Winged Hope
by L-Liadon
Summary: Syaoran is devastated to find that he has been betrothed to a girl against his will. How will he break the news to Sakura? And can she help and pull Syaoran out of his dilemma? Post second movie. SS, TY.
1. Prologue

**WINGED HOPE**

**Sakura+Syaoran**

**PG13**

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**Summary:** Syaoran is devastated to find that he has been betrothed to a girl against his will. How will he break the news to Sakura? And can she help and pull Syaoran out of his dilemma? This story picks up right at the end of _Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card_. SS, TxY. Fluff, angst, and a splash of slash.

**Note:** Mind you, this story is not yet betaed. I am ill at the moment, sort of bed-ridden, bored out of my wits and in desperate need of something amusing to do. I thought I'd post a new story on FF.N. :) First CCS fic written and posted, by the way. Reviews and constructive feedback, as always, are very, very much appreciated. Also, if any of you are interested in beta-reading this particular fic, feel free to email me. Thanks so much!

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**PROLOGUE**

"Wait, wait!" Syaoran yelled in panic, his eyes widening at the sight of Sakura backing out little by little, preparing herself to jump over the gap. "It's too big . . . you'll fall . . . Sakura -- "

Sakura dashed forward and, pushing her feet hard against the edge of the gap, leapt to the other side where Syaoran stood. "I love you!" she screamed as her body arched and bent, her entire face brightened, her cheeks gleaming pink.

Syaoran opened his arms wide and steadied his feet, and caught the girl when she landed on the platform, very barely touching the edge. He tightened his arms around her and pulled her away from the edge for fear of them both falling into nothingness. From the corner of his eye he could see the bright stream of sunlight enveloping the entire city inch by inch, and as those that had disappeared returned one by one, trees instantly turned green and flowers began to bloom. In the city people fluttered their eyes open and yawned, waking up from a daze.

In his arms, Sakura was blushing pink all the way to the tips of her ears; her eyes were sparkling against the afternoon ray as she looked up at him. Syaoran smiled at her. "I love you," he whispered. He leaned forward, tilting his head a little bit to the side, and pressed his lips ever so softly on Sakura's. Sakura gave a small intake of breath as their lips met, then she closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

It ended as quickly as it had started. Both of them stood awkwardly afterwards, her wrapped in his arms, staring at him in astonishment, and him staring back with wide eyes, unable to move or talk. His heart thudded mercilessly against his ribcage and he could feel blood rushing to his head, heating up his face and dizzying him. He staggered a little; Sakura caught him with both hands, steadying him.

"Syaoran-kun . . ."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to do that. I was . . . I'm sorry." He let go of her and stepped back a little, looking out into the city underneath to hide the show of emotion clouding his face. "The . . . the city seems to have r-recovered," he stammered a change of subject, inching even further away from Sakura. "We should go back to check up on the others."

She did not say a word but followed him down to greet Tomoyo and Meilin.

That night he could not get himself to sleep. The lights in the room next door where Meilin and Daidouji-san slept had since long been turned off, but he was wide-awake and felt so vibrant with energy, highly rejuvenated. He went out to the balcony and stood against the banister, staring up at the stars, and contemplated calling her. It was very late at night, though, and even if she were still awake he would risk getting scolded by her overprotective, vicious brother. He went back into his room and lay on the bed with both hands tucked under his head. He did not dare close his eyes because doing so would bring back the memory from earlier in the afternoon, when he had kissed her. His lips were still tingly from the kiss - her lips had been so soft and moist, just as he had imagined they would be. She had fit so perfectly in his arms as he held her close while kissing her, and her hair had smelled so wonderful it would permanently stick to his memory.

Syaoran rolled over and buried his face in the fluffy pillow. _I'm in love_, he thought, and groaned inwardly. _I am so much in love with her that it hurts me everywhere._

He would be flying back to Hong Kong the next day, but all he wanted was to see her smile, smell her hair, hold her tight in his arms and kiss her just once more. For a lot longer this time.

It would be hours before Syaoran Li finally dozed off.

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((ch. 1)) 


	2. Chapter 1

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter One **

The tree branch was Syaoran's favorite spot to spend a lazy afternoon on. It was just his luck that the Li mansion had plenty of big, lush trees with sturdy branches for him to climb and finally perch on. This afternoon Syaoran felt up for a challenge and chose a tree which branches twisted and hooked around each other in such a complicated way that, looking up, the whole thing looked like a maze. Without hesitation he had jumped on to the first branch and proceeded climbing upwards, his lithe body leapt and crouched, energetic like a cat. He gave a triumphant yell when he finally reached the highest branch, and then he sat down to enjoy the view of the vast green land below. Not too far from the house lay a blue river surrounded by low bushes in which colorful flowers grew. Fixing his gaze on the river, Syaoran leaned back against the tree bark and let his mind travel far to Japan. If Sakura ever came over to see him in Hong Kong, he would take her to that river and they could spend hours in the afternoon just enjoying being together. When Sakura came over, he would tell her - no, he would _show her_ - how much he loved her. The thought brought a smile to his face; he could not help a blush from creeping up to color his cheeks. He must have reached that age where young boys are obsessed with certain things, and Syaoran admitted that he had thought of Sakura _that_ way more than once.

It was all Yamazaki's fault. Not long after Eriol left Japan for England, Yamazaki started a chain of storytelling between him, Syaoran, and Eriol through letters, which had begun quite innocently with a few folklores and urban legends, but suddenly and very, very quickly the subject swerved to relationships and, eventually, the art of lovemaking. It did not surprise Syaoran that Eriol seemed to know quite a lot about sex despite his young age; he was, after all, the reincarnation of Clow Reed and his memories were based on those of Clow Reed's, who had been a grown-up man. Syaoran discovered that he was the most clueless among the three and often frustrated Yamazaki with his lack of knowledge. Yamazaki, who had been dating Chiharu for nearly three years now, claimed to have not gone further than making out. Eriol was never interested to try anything extravagant with Nakuru, although with Kaho Mizuki it was another story. The thought of Eriol making out with Mizuki-san made Syaoran shiver.

He had not spoken with anyone about the kiss he'd briefly shared with Sakura. If Eriol suspected anything (after all, he had psychic powers stronger than Syaoran's mother's) he had kept it to himself. Syaoran did not mention the kiss in his letters to Sakura, either. He had wanted to, several times, but every time he began writing about the kiss, or as much as thought about it, suddenly he felt the urge to do something further, something more special and more . . . intimate with the girl, and the letter ended up in the wastepaper basket. His feelings for Sakura were far more intense than just a physical attraction, but when you're thirteen and a boy, everything always comes down to that _one_ thing no matter how hard you try not to go there. He did not dare discuss the kiss with Meilin, either, even though the nosey little girl had to touch the subject at least once a day.

Syaoran had climbed a tree and sat on the highest branch that afternoon to clear his mind off of those thoughts. Just the day before he had received a letter from Yamazaki and Eriol both, and both were discussing, quite in depth, particular sexual positions that he currently had trouble getting out of his mind. Frighteningly enough, the image of Sakura always intruded his thoughts while he was reading the letters. This was one of those moments when Syaoran wished he had a father figure in his life.

He adjusted his sitting position on the tree branch and pulled out a letter from the back of his pants pocket. It was the most recent letter from Sakura that had arrived earlier that morning. With the letter she had enclosed a little present, which Syaoran now held in one hand. It was the elastic hair tie that she often wore which had a black cord that connected two red marbles on each end.

_Syaoran-kun, I am glad to hear that you are well_, she wrote._ Please send my regards to Meilin and extend my congratulations on being ahead in class._

Syaoran frowned at this. That Meilin. If only he had not been so distracted lately, he would have beaten her in every lesson easily. She was even ahead of him in their training now. _Sure, I'll give her your best regards for her triumphs over me_, he thought bitterly. Syaoran quickly read the next few paragraphs where Sakura described her day in school, at home, her homework, and Kero's latest achievement in his favorite video game. When he got to his favorite part, he slowed down.

_With this letter I am enclosing my favorite hair tie. It is one that I used to wear every day (I just bought a pair of new ones last Sunday), and I am giving this to you as a loan - or rather, as a promise that we will see each other again. And when we do, I want to get this back, so please don't lose it._

"Of course I won't lose it. Idiot," Syaoran muttered, though with a smile.

And then she signed: _With love, Sakura._

"I love you, too, Sakura," Syaoran whispered, his eyes fluttering closed as he leaned his head back against the tree bark. "I am counting the days 'til we meet again."

His mind was filled with thoughts of Sakura's smiling expressions. He was basking blissfully in the images of her when an unbelievably loud cry echoed from down under. "Syaaaaooooraaaaaan!"

He almost fell off the tree. Kneeling carefully on the branch, he peered through the leaves and saw two of his eldest sisters patrolling the garden in search of him.

"Syaaaaaaaooooraaaaaaan!"

Did they _really_ have to be this loud?

Rolling his eyes, Syaoran shoved Sakura's letter and hair tie back into his pocket and prepared to climb down. His suave catlike movements did not rustle a single leaf all the way to the ground. He walked up to his sisters and, with both hands folded across his chest, spoke coolly, "You've disturbed my nap."

The two young women jumped in surprise, shrieking like a banshee.

"Oh my goodness, you nearly killed me!" the older one said, one hand clutching her chest as if to prevent her heart from leaping out.

"Mother wants to see you immediately," the younger one stated in her high-pitched voice. "Which means now. This minute."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She just says it's something very important that cannot wait."

"You better hurry up."

Letting out a heavy sigh, irritated that his daydream of Sakura had been cut short, Syaoran turned on his heels and walked towards the mansion. Behind him, his sisters were whispering to each other and when Syaoran turned to look, they giggled surreptitiously. What was it that his mother wanted to talk about so urgently? And why were his sisters acting suspiciously? Syaoran searched his brain for anything that he might have done wrong, or something that he had forgotten to do, but nothing came to mind. His thoughts went a couple of days back as he retraced his actions, and then a few days back, and then a month back. Nothing at all. He finally decided that she probably wanted to discuss his new training sessions. Maybe he was allowed to train outside of Hong Kong now - maybe in Japan? His heart gave a thud at the thought.

His other sisters were crowding the double doors that led into his mother's chambers. They stopped whispering when Syaoran arrived, the elder sister giving him an arrogant, somewhat mocking smirk as he walked past. "Aren't you the lucky one," she said, a tone of jealousy clear in her voice. "And I always thought I would be first. Hmph." She flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder and walked off.

Syaoran was about to ask what on earth she was ranting about when he felt a harsh yank on his shirt and then he was half pushed through the double doors into his mother's chamber. The cavernous room was bathed in afternoon sunlight. Shiny polished wood covered every inch of the floor from the door all the way to the other end of the room. Floor-to-ceiling windows behind his mother's desk were opened to reveal the breathtaking view of the backyard garden. Tall bookshelves towered against the walls on both sides of the room. And behind a wide and sturdy mahogany table sat Yelan Li, head of the long-extended Li family, Syaoran's mother. Syaoran gave a small bow to his mother and waited for her gesture before stepping forward.

"Good afternoon, Mother," he greeted, his voice ringing clearly in the room. His mother nodded a little and gave him a small smile.

"How is your day?" she asked.

"Very well, thank you."

It had always been formal between him and his mother. Syaoran could not remember a day when he could talk loosely with his mother like Meilin did with hers.

"You do remember that your birthday is coming up in a few days?"

"Ten days."

"You'll be thirteen then." Yelan got up, rounded the desk to where Syaoran stood, and bent forward to kiss her son on the cheek. "You're growing up so fast. Too fast, really." Her expression was melancholy as she studied her son's features. Yelan took a deep breath and exhaled, the smooth lines on her face deepened and her voice suddenly sounding tired. "There is something very important I need to discuss with you in regards to your father's wish."

"What kind of a wish?" he inquired, suddenly alarmed.

This was the subject that Yelan had tried to avoid for years, but time had been ticking rapidly and now was the moment she had to reveal her husband's ultimatum. When she woke up that morning and found one of her crystal vases broken, she knew the day was going to be dreadful. Syaoran would be brokenhearted and she would be devastated to have been the cause of such misery to him.

"Syaoran," Yelan paused for a moment, wrecking her brain for any last-minute option that she might have overlooked. She really could not postpone this any longer. In a matter of hours relatives and close friends would arrive at the mansion, and within days she would have to perform the ceremony. She had to tell him.

"The land of Hong Kong has thus far recognized one particular bloodline to be the most powerful, most dignified, and remarkably respected, and that is the Li clan, our family. Our history goes all the way back to the ancient times, before days and months were invented and probably even further than that. Some believe that we are descendants of the gods themselves, which is why some of our ancestors turned into powerful wizards and sorcerers. However, being powerful, magical, and respected in this country and beyond is not the only privilege that we, the Li clan, bear. We are . . . should I say blessed . . . with the opportunity to extend our bloodline with the honorable clans, the most noble lords and ladies on our land."

For years Yelan had prepared this speech, and in the past few weeks she had even written it down, read it over and over, memorized it, rewritten it, and re-memorized it. But now that she was finally standing face to face with her son, her brain failed, and the speech suddenly sounded too proper and utterly impersonal. Yelan leaned against the rim of her desk and took Syaoran's hands in hers. She looked deeply into the boy's eyes and continued, "Minutes before he passed away, your father reminded me of an oath that he and I had made about a decade ago, and that is to marry the first born son in the family with the Xiu clan."

Syaoran's face tightened. His hands slipped gently away from his mother's grasp.

"Last month, I was once again reminded of this oath by Faikong Xiu, head of the last Xiu clan, that his daughter will be turning thirteen on July 13. She shares the same birthday as you. She is the only heir to the Xiu clan and the only way for them to continue the bloodline is through . . ."

Yelan paused and looked away.

"Through marriage to the first born son in our family," Syaoran finished the sentence for her. "A marriage to me."

"They are a highly respected family, just like we are, and just as powerful. The oath was taken with blood - there is no changing it - it is ultimate. Revising it the tiniest bit would be the downfall of us and our history would be as precious as a piece of ragged cloth that needs to be discarded."

Syaoran clenched his jaws and balled his hands into fists. "How selfish of them!" he hissed in anger. "To make my father promise something so sacred - to bestow this . . . this _burden_ upon my father's shoulders!"

"It did not seem much of a burden at the time you were born. You were the only son in our family and they finally received a daughter after so many years trying to conceive - at that time it seemed so perfect."

"And of course nobody considered I would grow up to develop feelings and have choices!" His voice was gradually rising. "From the sounds of it I was determined to _not_ have choices at all, nor to make decisions on my own!"

"You are the first born son of a royal family," Yelan said. "Your choices are never easy."

"Why have I never been introduced to this girl before," he demanded, "even when I was engaged to Meilin for _years_?"

"Faikong Xiu believes in the old-fashioned ideals; he decided to not have you and his daughter interact with each other until the time comes for you to be betrothed. When you and Meilin made a promise to be engaged I did not think much of the pledge. I had believed that you two were too young to comprehend the meaning of the bind, and I was hoping that as time passed by and you grew up, you and Meilin would eventually forget the promise."

The elders had surely arranged his life and future for him. To say he was furious would be an understatement; he was beyond livid.

"If I presented a girl," he said through ragged breathing, "a girl of my choice, a girl that I love . . . ."

"You cannot refuse the oath," Yelan turned to her son with a grim expression. "It was your father's hope to marry you with Xiu's daughter. We have promised . . . that the engagement ceremony will be hosted on your thirteenth birthday."

His mother's words swirled around inside the labyrinth of his ears for what seemed like an eternity before they finally seeped into the chambers of his brain, and when they did, he felt dizzy, as if oxygen had suddenly refused to provide life for him. Somewhere in his chest he felt a piercing pain, merciless and unbearable; he knew his heart was bleeding. He staggered forward unintentionally and had to hold on to the desk to prevent from falling. His chest tightened and his head spun rapidly; his vision was blurred that he had to close his eyes; his ears closed up as if he had suddenly dove miles deep into the ocean and all he could hear was a disturbing whistling that seemed to have risen from another world beneath. Syaoran felt as if he had been stabbed with a poisonous blade.

He looked up and noticed a single tear roll down his mother's cheek. Yelan cupped her son's face in her hands. "I have not enough strength or power over this," she whispered. "I am sorry."

Something inside him broke into shards. Every pore on his skin hurt as if there were thin invisible strings pulling him hard to a thousand different directions and they would keep pulling until he would explode. It took him a while to gain composure. Then, very slowly, he turned around and walked out the door.

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((ch. 2)) 

**Note:** Unfortunately I still have not found a beta-reader for this story . . . . Anyone interested, you're welcome to contact me, okay:) Constructive feedback will be most appreciated - thanks much! Lav


	3. Chapter 2

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Two**

Syaoran dragged his feet up the stairs to the third floor, every step was heavy; he felt like he was going to the gallows instead of into his bedchamber. He had not said a word to his sisters in the main hall outside his mother's room, and when he saw Wei on the second floor he could only manage a weak nod. If he were the dramatic kind he might have contemplated gulping down a bottleful of rat poison, just like those hopeless romantics from way back when that he read in literature books. If he were reckless, he might consider running away. But Syaoran Li was level headed and mature - he just needed some time to be alone to think - and hopefully he would not have to kill himself during the process.

He slipped into his bedroom quietly and locked the door behind him. The full length, oval-shaped window next to his bed was wide open to let the cool afternoon breeze in. Syaoran sat on the ledge, one foot dangling on the outer side. Below him was the extension of the backyard and he could see his mother's orange and white koi fish swimming cheerfully in the pond. A small blue bird flew low above the water and perched on a floating lily pad, chirping jovially. It was funny how the rest of the world seemed to go about its business as normal as always while to Syaoran his world was ending.

He was not one to express his feelings openly. When he was disturbed, angry, or sad, he stayed quiet; sometimes he would stay quiet for days until the emotions subsided. But Syaoran knew that he could not stay quiet for far too long this time around. In ten days he was to be engaged against his will to a girl that he had never met, a girl that he did not love.

And the girl that he loved?

She would hate him for the rest of her life. She had been in love with Yukito when he came around, and now that she was in love with _him_ he would have to break her heart yet once again. Syaoran felt as if his stomach was filled with coal. He silently prayed for someone that he could talk to, someone who would understand and would know what to do.

The answer of his prayer was heard thundering outside his door, and a few moments later there was banging on the door.

"Syaoran, open up!"

He remembered the times when that voice could annoy him so much, especially when they were in Japan and she seemed to pop up out of the blue everywhere he went. But at this moment the presence of Meilin Li was just exactly what he needed.

"Syaoran!" Still impatient and will always be, his angel in disguise.

He jumped off the window ledge and unlocked the door.

Meilin stormed into the room, panting; her expression was a mix of dismay and anger. "Tell me it isn't true!" she demanded. Syaoran remained quiet.

"I can't believe this!" she fumed and began pacing back and forth by the window, her long braided hair flying about manically. "This _cannot_ be true; we were engaged for years - why didn't anyone ever tell us!"

"That's what I said to my mother, too," Syaoran said. "The elders were hoping we would forget about the pact once we got older, so they never saw the need to inform."

"How very _selfish_ of them!" Meilin flopped on to the armchair by the window angrily, her arms folded across her chest, her breathing hard and irregular. "And now that you've found someone you love the most and who loves you the most . . . . You can't possibly just sit around here leisurely doing nothing, Syaoran. Tell me you've thought up a plan."

"I am _not_ sitting around leisurely," Syaoran snapped back in annoyance. "Just in case you haven't noticed, Meilin, I'm quite in distress here."

"Well, good. That means we're going to get somewhere after all." Meilin wrapped the end of her braid around her forefinger. Her face was scrunched up, a sign that she was thinking hard. "How about bringing Kinomoto-san over here, tell everyone you already have a girl of your choice?"

"I mentioned the option. Mother said that the pact was for me to marry Xiu's daughter, and that is unchangeable."

"Dammit," Meilin spat, sulking. She pulled her legs up and hugged them, placing her chin on top of her knees. "There _has_ got to be a way," she whispered, more to herself than to Syaoran. "I just need to think. _Think_. There _must_ be some way."

A soft knock on the door broke her concentration. Syaoran reached for the doorknob and whirled it open to let three of his sisters in.

"Feimei is so disturbed that you're getting engaged," his eldest sister, Fudie, stated calmly as she entered the room and took a seat on Syaoran's bed. "She thought that since she is a couple of years older than you, she would get married first."

"Well, Feimei can get married to the Xiu girl in my place for all I care," he muttered.

"Her name is Fang Yin," said Xuehua, his second eldest sister. "She's very pretty and proper - good wife material."

"You'll like her once you meet her," Huanglian chimed in. "We met her at a tea party last year. She was lovely."

Syaoran's sisters started talking about the girl at the same time, mentioning the good qualities that she had and how wonderful it would be to have her as a sister-in-law. Meilin was seething in her chair listening to the conversation, so much that smoke seemed to rise from the top of her head. Suddenly she got up, stomping both feet on the floor and nearly knocked off the corner table in the process.

"Syaoran isn't going to marry her!" she screamed at the older girls. "He has a girlfriend in Japan!"

Shocked expressions. "What . . .?"

"You do?" Heads swiveled to Syaoran.

"When did this happen?"

"Her name is Sakura Kinomoto and you all have met her and you loved her and you _said_ you _wanted_ to have her as a sister," Meilin said in one breath. "Now you have a chance to make that happen and I want you to help us think up a way to get Syaoran out of this stupid bind so that he can be with her. _Please_."

The girls looked at each other and then at Meilin.

"Kinomoto? She came here to visit with her pretty long-haired friend and her handsome brother and his cute friend a couple of years ago, right? Was that her?"

"Yes, that was her."

"Oh, she was _preeeeettttyy_!" the three girls cried.

"And her brother was soooooooo hot!"

"I wouldn't mind getting in a bind with him," Xuehua giggled. "Or his friend."

"If you were about ten years younger, he _might_ be interested," Huanglian said, shoving Xuehua playfully on the shoulder.

"I am not _that_ old."

"But I'm much younger."

"He's taken!" Syaoran yelled, jumping up to his feet, and walked over to the window. His head began to throb again. "They're both taken, so you may as well just stop cooing like a flock of brainless chicken right now."

Fudie raised an eyebrow at Syaoran. Rising to her feet, she commanded her sisters to leave the room.

"We have nine days," Meilin said in a low, sad tone just before the girls left. "Nine days to try and annul this engagement. If any of you can think of anything . . . anything at all."

_And I am going to talk to my auntie_, Meilin thought privately. _Tonight, after dinner, I will see her and try to knock some sense into her head. And then I will write an email to Daidouji-san and plot with her_.

- - -

Dinner was a quiet affair that night. Yelan sat at the head of the table with Fudie on her right side and Syaoran on her left. She kept throwing furtive glances at her son throughout the entire five-course meal, and every time she looked at Syaoran her heart broke. Never before she had seen him look so miserable, as if every part of him was aching unbearably, and he had a good reason for that, too.

Yelan's thoughts traveled six years back, to her husband's deathbed. She had sat on the side of the bed that night, holding his hand, and he had smiled at her ever so lovingly, convincing her that he would always be watching her and their children from up above. And then he turned a little to the side and whispered in her ear, "Remember our promise for Syaoran. Never forget the promise, Yelan."

Yelan had wept. She looked up at her husband teary-eyed and pleaded for him to change the pact. "He will meet someone else that he'll love dearly, and I can't let myself be the one to shatter his dreams."

"The pact is absolute," her husband had said in a raspy voice. "I am sure Syaoran will be a mature enough man by then to know what's right for him."

On her left side Syaoran ate quietly; he picked up a leafy green piece of vegetable with his chopsticks and chewed, his eyes glued to his bowl of rice. Yelan felt her throat burning. _He's only thirteen; why does he have to suffer such tremendous pain at such a young age?_

Half the table refused to take dessert that evening. The older girls were going shopping in town and planned to have mochi ice cream on the way. Syaoran retreated to his room immediately after bidding good night to everyone, and Yelan decided to return to her office to finish up some paperwork. She was about to push the double doors open when she felt a soft tug on her gown.

"Auntie, may I have a word with you?" Meilin inquired.

- - -

He was back on the window ledge, watching the koi fish swimming in the pond, its water had darkened and turned blackish blue under the evening glow. Wei was standing on the edge of the pond, one hand carrying a plastic bag full of fish food, the other scattering bits of food into the pond with a curvy wooden spoon.

Wei. He could talk to Wei. Wei had always been there for him not just as a trainer but also someone who took good care of him. He was almost like a father to Syaoran; he always knew what to say to soothe his troubled mind.

Syaoran stood on the window ledge and reached out for the nearest tree branch. He leapt onto it and started climbing down. Wei looked up and smiled at him.

"Good evening, Master Syaoran."

"Good evening," he replied. "Would you like some help with that, Wei?"

The old man nodded gladly and handed his spoon to Syaoran. They both stood quietly by the fishpond, immersed in the peaceful ambiance that the evening provided, the rustling of plastic bag was the only sound audible. When he was done feeding the fish, Syaoran sat cross-legged on the stone rim. A few moments later, Wei followed his gesture.

"I never thought I could fall this hard for a person," Syaoran said softly. Looking into the dark water he could not recognize the sad, troubled expression staring back at him. The reflection looked so much older than he was. He cleared his throat and continued, "Nor did I realize that such throbbing ache actually existed. My head has been spinning madly since this afternoon, and half a dozen cups of green tea have proven ineffective to soothe the pain."

"That's because it isn't really physical pain you're feeling," Wei said calmly. They watched a flock of fish scurrying to a corner where a lump of fish food floated. Three fish fought for it, the smallest one won.

"What should I do, Wei?" Syaoran turned to the old man. "What would you do?"

"Ah, I was never lucky enough to have two girls pining for me," Wei smiled comically, chuckling a little. Syaoran returned the smile weakly. "Although, I imagine it would have been a tough situation for me; but I would probably listen to what my heart had to say. It is the real feeling inside of you that wins out in the end, after all."

Syaoran climbed back up into his room several minutes later. As he got ready for bed his eyes suddenly caught a carving on the wall, just a little above his bed. It was so old and gradually fading that it was nearly invisible, but Syaoran remembered it as if he had just etched the wall yesterday. He knelt on his bed and leaned so close that his nose touched the cold surface of the wall. It was a vow that he had inscribed after he had won a martial arts competition when he was seven years old; his heart had been filled with so much pride that day that he believed he could fly. It was the day after his father had passed away. Syaoran remembered his little self climbing up onto the bed, one hand carrying a penknife, and he engraved on the wall ever so carefully:

_Number three. Exercise regularly and eat healthily._

_Number two. Practice and maintain high concentration._

_Number one. Nurture a fierce loyalty to your family._

After all the Clow Cards were claimed, he had not thought much of the pact anymore; but there must be a reason why he was reminded of it now. He closed his eyes and bit his lip so hard that it bled. He realized what he had to do.

Something in his pants pocket jabbed into his thigh. Syaoran pulled out Sakura's hair tie and held it tight in his hand.

"I will always be with you, Sakura," he whispered. "Forever."

- - -

"But Auntie, you _liked_ Kinomoto-san," Meilin stated in frustration, her hands balling into fists on her sides. She knew she was practically whining and her eyes were getting very wet and her vision blurry, but she would not stop until she received a satisfactory statement from her aunt. "Syaoran loves her. He _loves_ her. He gave _me_ up to be with her, so that should tell you something."

The door opened and Syaoran walked in. He paused at the threshold, surprised at the sight of Meilin, eyes red and brimming with tears, standing rigidly before his mother's desk. His mother looked weary but amused at the same time, a small smile forming faintly at the corner of her lips.

"This girl is truly something else," Meilin continued. "She is kind and utterly generous, she is the most selfless person I have ever known, and she is _pretty_. She is polite, she knows how to cook and sew, and she has tremendous magical powers that exceed even Syaoran's. She has a wonderful attitude and she is exuberant; she is a person you want Syaoran to be with. She is not some yes-girl who does whatever her father tells her to do and agrees to go off marrying someone she does not even know just so she could fulfill _her father's_ wish."

"Meilin," Syaoran cut her off sternly.

"I've thought of a way to annul this engagement," Meilin said, deliberately ignoring Syaoran. "I was thinking that if Syaoran and _I_ got married, and then after the ceremony I, the bride, decided to give my groom away to Kinomoto-san - and this is legal in our family, by the way - it would work. I spent nearly the entire afternoon before dinner consulting with books of law in the library, including ones that were written by my uncle, and I _know_ this can work."

"Meilin," Syaoran tried again, touching Meilin a little on the arm, his tone becoming persistent. She shrugged him off like a fly.

"This would work, Auntie, right? You know it would."

"Meilin!" Syaoran snapped, tugging Meilin's hand hard. "Stop this. The pact was blood-bound; it's absolute."

"But--"

"I've already made a decision." He looked up at his mother; his voice was firm and confident when he spoke. "I will not disappoint my father. His soul will not rest peacefully if I act against his will. A day after tomorrow I will go to Japan to take care of things, and on July 13 I will stand in front of Faikong Xiu and ask his daughter's hand in marriage."

Yelan's grip on her papers tightened. Syaoran's face was stern, determined, the brilliant sparkle in his eyes reminded her so much of her late husband's.

"That is my final decision, Mother."

"Very well," Yelan said. Next to Syaoran, Meilin began to sob. "I shall arrange for you to meet Fang Yin Xiu tomorrow afternoon for tea."

Syaoran excused himself and pulled the protesting Meilin out of his mother's office. That was it. He had decided, and there was no changing it now. He could not take his words back because that would be a cowardice thing to do. He would fly to Japan and break it off with Sakura, and then he would return home and let himself be bound in a marriage to a complete stranger. This was how his life's story was going to end. A bottleful of rat poison suddenly seemed interesting to him.

They walked side by side through the corridor towards the main hall, Meilin crying all the way. She stopped him at the bottom of the grand staircase.

"I feel like I don't know you anymore," she said in between her sobs, and looked up at Syaoran. "Where is the boy I grew up and fell in love with, the boy who had so much strength and power, who would not give up on anything and who would fight any obstacle that ever crossed his path?"

Syaoran swallowed. "This is what I need to do, Meilin. I've thought it over and I've decided."

"But it's the wrong decision!" Meilin cried. "It will hurt Kinomoto-san and I know it's killing you just as much, if not more, and you call this love? If it's loyalty to the family you're aiming for then you are not achieving it by torturing yourself like this, either."

He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice trembling a little. "Thank you for caring so much about me and for loving me. You truly are my guardian angel."

"You're so stupid, Syaoran," she sniffled. "You're an idiot."

"Good night, Meilin." Syaoran gave her a quick squeeze, then walked up the stairs and disappeared behind the walls on the second floor.

Meilin ran up into her bedroom and crashed on her bed, letting go the remaining tears of frustration until she was nearly out of breath. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and sat cross-legged on her bed, thinking. She had to do something. There must be a way to get Syaoran out of this mess. As if on cue, her eyes swayed to the side of her bed where her computer sat. She hopped off the bed and logged on to the Internet.

_Daidouji must help me_.

- - -

Syaoran closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment. He had thought that coming up with a decision would make him feel less burdened, but why did he feel so much more exhausted than before? With every single beat his heart ached, and every breath he took was scented with treachery. He was tortured. Meilin was right - he was not showing loyalty to his family by suffering like this. He bent his head low and closed his eyes. The images of Sakura's cheerful smile rolled behind his eyelids, making his head spin and his throat tight. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out Sakura's hair tie. He brought it close to his lips and kissed it; he could almost smell her hair and hear her voice calling him, "Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran slumped to the floor, a burning sensation strong in his throat. Before he realized what was happening, he felt something hot trickle down on his cheek. He had never done it before in his life, but tonight, he was crying.

* * *

((ch. 3))

**Note:** Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, and given me meaningful input so far. I appreciate every single one of them and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The next chapter will probably be posted some time next weekend because I'll be busy working the whole week; but if I find time to write I will do so and I will try to post mid-week. See you soon! -Lav


	4. Chapter 3

**Note:** Chapter Three ended up longer than I had expected so I decided to split it in two, the first part being chapter three itself and the second part chapter four. These are the Sakura chapters. Thanks again to those who have read and reviewed so far - you have no idea how much encouragement you've injected into my system and I love you for that:)

**Special thanks** to **AirStriker** who did an amazing (and speedy) beta job on this chapter! Thank you for getting the technical kinks out of the way and for giving me wonderful input on the story! (Love you!)

* * *

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Three**

Out of the many cherry blossom trees that grew near Tomoeda Elementary, Sakura liked the one by the fence the most. It was rather secluded and quiet, and if she climbed up high enough on the branches she could observe the entire school from there. Around three years ago the tree had been extremely convenient for Yukito-watching since the high school was on the other side of the fence, and Sakura had been able to see the entirety of its grounds from entrance, basketball court, and all the way to the yard on the far side. People would normally have to squint to locate Yukito, but when she was in love with him she could have singled him out from miles away.

Now she found the tree a comfortable place to read letters from Syaoran. The latest had just arrived earlier that morning, exactly at six o'clock. Sakura was not one to wake up early, but in the past few weeks she had set her alarm at five fifty-eight every morning so that she could tiptoe down the stairs without waking her brother and dad, and out the front door to wait for the mailman. Syaoran had been writing to her every day since he went back to Hong Kong, and Sakura had been replying to every single one of his letters loyally. The letter she currently held in her hand was written on light blue paper patterned with small white clouds, and so far she had read it five times: after she had received it from the mailman (sometimes, during lazy days, she would go back to sleep with Syaoran's letter clutched in her hands in hopes that she would dream of meeting him; this usually prompted her to oversleep, though), then when she was on the way to school, also when she was in class during Math (she had it hidden in the pages of her homework notebook), and twice during recess. She had the content of the letter memorized now that she could probably re-write everything with her eyes closed.

_Even though I am on summer break, my mother makes me train with Wei at least three hours a day, beginning at the crack of dawn until about breakfast time, then I can do whatever I want afterwards. Normally I just write you a letter and read a book until lunchtime. Meilin is using her free time to go shopping - I think she has bought at least three new dresses, two pairs of shorts, and about half a dozen earrings, bracelets, and hair ties that come in various colors. I am happy I am not a girl; it would really be terrible to have to go shopping like that. In the afternoon I nap on a tree branch just like I did in Tomoeda. You still do the same, right?_

"Yes, I do," Sakura said, nodding her head, and blushed when she realized she was talking to herself.

Sometimes I really wish you could be here with me. There are so many nice places I want to show you, my mother's garden being one of them. I spent such a long time in Japan that I started to forget how beautiful the garden is in springtime and early summer. You would love walking through the flowery archway and listening to the birds chirping. But you would have to wake up pretty early to catch the best of it; hopefully it would not be too big of a trouble for you, you sleepyhead. 

"Urgh, Syaoran-kun," Sakura grumbled, her mouth curving into a pout.

_Sakura, I am actually planning to come visit you in the next couple of days. I am sorry that this is such a short notice, but please let me know if I can come over or if you have already made plans, okay?_

_Yours, Syaoran._

"He's coming over," Sakura whispered, pressing the letter against her chest. She closed her eyes and smiled happily. "He's going to come see me," she said a little loudly. Then she stood on the tree branch and shouted it out loud, "He's coming over to see me in two days!"

She had not realized that there was a family of birds perching on a branch just above her. The sound of her voice surprised the birds that they took flight so abruptly, startling Sakura in return.

"Hoeeeee!"

She quickly grabbed on to a thin branch above her head, but it broke. Her feet wobbled and she swayed back and forth trying to stay balanced. Just as she seemed to have gained control of her posture, another branch cracked on top of her and, dodging the falling piece of wood, she jumped forward and held on chimpanzee-style to a thicker branch before her. Her feet dangled underneath her and Syaoran's letter was crushed between her palm and the branch. Sakura looked down to calculate the chances of her breaking a bone if she let go and jumped down. She had no time to pull out her magic key and use one of the cards to help her float. She had to jump.

"Sakura-chan!" She heard Tomoyo's worried voice ringing through the park. She grimaced sheepishly when Tomoyo's figure came into view. Her friend looked up at her, hand over her mouth. "What on earth happened!"

"Um, I kind of . . . kind of fell," Sakura said. "And - _hoe!_ - my hands are slipping so I- I think I'm going to attempt a jump."

"Wait - let me get somebody. I saw Yamazaki just seconds ago at the entrance. Let me go get him, okay? He can pull you back up onto the branch."

"I think I'm fine, Tomoyo-chan. Really. I'm okay to jump."

Sakura observed her potential landing space. The earth around the tree roots seemed high enough to provide a smooth, less painful landing, so she carefully aimed for that grassy pile of soil. Closing her eyes and praying for the best, Sakura let go of her hands.

Swoooooosh - thud! 

"Sakura-chan!" she heard Tomoyo scream and then shoes running towards her. She was seeing stars for a few moments. When she opened her eyes Tomoyo was kneeling next to her, pushing two fingers gently on different spots on her arms and legs to make sure nothing was broken.

"I'm fine," Sakura said, grinning. She knew there would be bruises blooming on her upper thighs and her behind. "Apparently it was not that high of a tree after all, he-he."

Tomoyo's eyes swerved to the crunched paper in Sakura's hand. "Oh no!" she cried. "Li-kun's letter is all ruined."

Sakura placed the letter on one thigh and smoothed out the creases. "He's coming over here," she said rather dreamily. "He wants to know if I'm going to be around. That silly boy, of _course_ I am going to be here; and even if I had made plans I would have canceled everything and waited for him here."

Her cheeks were tinted rosy pink and the gleam in her eyes was so bright like a thousand of twinkling stars. Tomoyo smiled at her best friend and said genuinely, "That's very good news, Sakura-chan. Did he say how long he's going to be here for?"

_The engagement is in ten days_, Meilin's email suddenly flashed before Tomoyo's eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She blinked once; it disappeared.

"No," Sakura answered. "But I don't care, as long as I get to see him again and spend some time with him, I'll be happy. This long distance thing really does not agree with me."

_Neither does it with me_, Tomoyo wanted to say, _because it is making the two of you suffer, but I will do everything in my power to stop it_. "I am glad that Li-kun is coming over," she said instead, and helped Sakura up to her feet.

Sakura collected her schoolbag, lunchbox, and gym bag, and then the two of them headed for home. When Touya graduated from high school and entered a university that was quite a long way from Sakura's school, Tomoyo had offered to keep Sakura company on her walk back home every day. Sometimes they would stop by Tomoyo's house for a bit of afternoon snack and to do homework, but only when Sakura did not have house chores to do, an opportunity that was becoming even more rare now since Touya was normally out until late; more often than not Sakura ended up having to cook dinner four nights a week. This afternoon, however, Sakura had to be home early because she had laundry to do on top of cooking dinner, and although normally this would annoy her, today she looked exceptionally radiant, all credits to the scrunched up paper in her right hand.

Walking past the Twin Bells Tomoyo remembered that Rika had left a gift for Sakura. Out of her schoolbag she pulled a small box wrapped in pink paper and a white bow.

"I almost forgot," she said apologetically, "Rika made this for you. She ended up with so much material for that pin she made for Terada-sensei that she decided to make one for everyone, too. Mine is a cherry blossom pin to remind me of you." She took the pin out from her pocket and showed it to Sakura.

"Oh, this is pretty! Do you think it would be okay if I opened mine now even though Rika isn't present?"

"I'm sure it's fine," Tomoyo said.

Sakura stood by a lamppost as her fingers worked quickly to open the pink wrapper. She opened the box and revealed a golden pin in the shape of a heart attached to a pair of wings. "Oh _wow_!" she exclaimed excitedly. "This is lovely!"

Tomoyo observed the pin. The shape looked utterly familiar to her. "The winged hope," she whispered.

"The what?"

"I saw a picture of a heart with wings like that in one of my mother's old folktale books - it is called the winged hope. My mother said that if you are in possession of a winged hope, everything you wish for will come true, because it is supposed to represent the fact that your heart is ready to take flight to fulfill all of your wishes. I don't know if it is true, but it's a wonderful story, isn't it?"

Beaming, Sakura held her pin up. "I believe it is true." It glinted against the sun - once, twice. "I will thank Rika-chan properly tomorrow. Maybe I should save some dessert for her tonight."

"What do you wish for the most, Sakura-chan?"

She thought for a few seconds, and then smiled as her right hand tightened around her letter. "I wish for Syaoran and I to be together forever."

"That's a good one," Tomoyo said. _Because I wish the same for you_.

Sakura rolled cheerfully on her rollerblades next to Tomoyo, humming a tune. Tomoyo recognized it as the one they had used for the school play during the Nadeshiko festival when Sakura had danced with Syaoran as a princess and a prince from two feuding countries. Her hair was blowing in the wind jubilantly, her new hair tie bouncing up and down around her pigtails, and Sakura's smile was so lovely that Tomoyo wished she could frame it and hang it up in her bedroom.

_I want you to smile like that forever, Sakura-chan_.

She tried to push Meilin's email away from her mind for a while, at least until Sakura was safe and sound inside the Kinomoto residence so that she could keep smiling for her all the way home; but it kept coming back to her - every word, every frustrated word.

The email had come the night before, such an utter shock to Tomoyo that she had sat frozen in front of her computer for a long time. She could not move or think, and it even hurt to breathe. She felt like she had been slapped hard in the face, and there was a harsh pang in her heart she did not recognize. She would have cried all night, but then she realized that Meilin must have already shed so many tears for all four of them. And Syaoran. She could only imagine how much pain Syaoran must be suffering from. She had to think clearly and find a solution; nothing good would ever come from breaking down and wailing seven days and seven nights. Oh, why did this have to happen when everything was just beginning? Sakura and Syaoran's love for each other was so strong that Tomoyo wholeheartedly believed they would remain together forever - and then _this_ had to happen.

Daidouji, I trust that you will keep this between you and me until Syaoran comes over and tells Kinomoto everything. The thought of them both having to hurt so horribly like this is truly unbearable, but I know that you will take care of her just as good as you had taken care of me back then. With you around, I know she is in good hands. 

Tomoyo swallowed. She could not cry. Not now, not when Sakura was on her side, so happy and so much in love.

"Tomoyo-chan?"

She jolted back into reality and gave Sakura her prettiest smile. "Yes?"

"Did everything go well at choir practice today?"

"Yes, it did, thank you. We are very much ready for the competition next month."

"You look a little sad, though - is there anything I can do to help?"

_How am I going to keep a straight face and tell her everything is all right?_ Tomoyo grieved. _I have kept things from her in the past, all for her own good because I knew she would be happy eventually, but this is different. This is something that truly makes me feel treacherous inside._

"It's all right," Tomoyo said finally, her voice came out louder and more confident than she felt. "Everything will be all right."

"Yukito-san will be sleeping over tonight," Sakura said, the smile was back on her face. "My dad is away to a convention out of town and because Yukito's grandparents are out traveling for a month, Onii-chan invited him over. This means that I have to cook dinner enough to feed five people!"

Tomoyo giggled. "I am sure Tsukishiro-san will eat it all in a matter of minutes. He really loves your cooking."

Sakura chuckled at that. "He kind of does, doesn't he?" She put her hands out in the air and began to whirl, laughing jovially.

_Yukito. And Yue. Will they be able to help in a situation like this where there were no evil cards involved?_

An alarm went off inside Tomoyo's head all of a sudden, and her heart lightened up instantly. Maybe, just maybe . . . .

At the intersection they split up - Sakura made a left turn into the residence area and Tomoyo went straight to the main road where her car was waiting. After waving Sakura goodbye she walked fast to the car and instructed the driver to speed up all the way home. She had to email Meilin immediately.

- - -

Touya sat across from Sakura at the dinner table, munching on his fried shrimp while watching the blushing expression on her sister's face as she read a piece of crumpled paper. He picked up his teacup and sipped on the scalding content, then swallowed. He watched Sakura for a couple more seconds and finally gave up. "Why," he said, picking up another shrimp, "have you been getting so many letters from boys in a span of three days?"

Sakura folded the letter, blushing even more, and shoved it in her pocket. "Syaoran-kun writes me every day, and Eriol writes me once a week. It just so happens they all came at the same time yesterday."

"That twerp writes you every day?" Touya asked; his inner bully was tickled. "Does he even know how to spell your name in kanji?"

"Of course he does," Sakura argued defensively. "Stop making fun of him - he's a nice boy."

"He's a twerp."

"He's _nice_! And he's coming over to see me in two days."

Next to Touya, Yukito beamed. "Is he, really? That's so wonderful!" He filled up his bowl with a second serving of rice and chopsticked about six pieces of fried shrimps and four fishcakes into his platter. "Is he going to stay here?"

"Not in a million years!" Touya protested quickly. "Are you kidding me, having that twerp sleep in _this_ house?"

"Well, if he doesn't have anywhere to stay yet, he can stay at my place," Yukito offered. "But only if that's okay with you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura bowed her head and thanked Yukito. "Thank you so much. I will ask him and let you know."

"Maybe we can treat him to dinner, too," Yukito suggested. "How about at the diner where you work this summer, Touya?"

Touya shook his head vigorously and flailed his hands around as if he had been attacked by killer bees. "Oh no, no, no, not again. I already spent so much money on him for ice cream and sodas and another ice cr-- _OW_!"

An angelic expression on his face, Yukito leaned sideways and, placing one hand gently on the taller man's thigh, whispered into Touya's ear ever so softly so that Sakura could not hear him. Touya turned beet red once Yukito finished talking.

"But that-- you can't-- _What_?" he stammered. "That's a _threat_! A very, very uncalled for threat."

Yukito chuckled lightly. "Either we treat him to dinner or . . . you know what."

"Yuki, you're--"

"You have the option, Touya."

Touya looked as if he had swallowed something bitter. "You can be so _mean_ sometimes, you know that?"

Casually. "Uh huh."

With a heavy sigh, Touya placed his bowl down next to his platter and drank up his miso soup to the last drop. Then he wiped his mouth with a napkin and, giving a quick glance at his sister, got up and muttered, "Fine, dinner at the restaurant when he's here. I'll pay."

"Thank you!" Sakura was about to get up to hug her brother, but Touya whirled around so fast she fell back into her chair.

"He can't come over after eight o'clock at night," he said sternly, "and when he does come over, you'll have to have either me or Yuki at home, or you two can go to Tomoyo's - no, that would be just as bad - I'll have that plush toy watch over you if I have to, but you are definitely _not_ to be left in this house alone with him."

"I know, I know, I know. We can take care of ourselves. You're embarrassing me."

"Break my rules and you won't be allowed to see him again."

"I won't!" Sakura pouted. She could not understand why his brother seemed to hate Syaoran so much. Yukito once said it was really jealousy instead of hatred, but Sakura could not understand why he would be jealous of Syaoran, either. Her brother was so complicated; she was glad that Yukito was such an understanding person enough to be able to keep up with him.

That night, after Yukito finished helping her clean up the dishes in the kitchen, he called Sakura into the living room and gave her a present. It was flat and wrapped in baby pink plastic cover.

"I saw this in a store on my way home from college today," Yukito said, smiling. "I immediately thought of you and believed it would be useful."

Sakura peeled off the scotch tape on the back of the plastic wrap, and a card slid out onto her palm.

"It's an international calling card - it should contain about three hundred minutes or so. I hope that's enough for now."

She felt like crying. She was so overwhelmed with happiness that she lunged forward and circled her arms around Yukito's waist. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice trembling and her heart swelling with joy. "Thank you so much."

Yukito wrapped his arms around her and knelt down so that he could hug her properly. "I don't want to see you sad, Sakura-chan. I want you to be happy forever. Okay?"

"Yes," she nodded.

- - -

Tomoyo waited anxiously in front of her computer screen. She chewed on her bottom lip and fiddled with her fingers nervously. She nearly jumped when her screen finally blinked and a message from Meilin Li appeared: _That is brilliant! I don't know why _I_ didn't think of that first! Daidouji, you're a smart girl - thank you. We shall get to work immediately. -Meilin._

_

* * *

_

((ch. 4))

**Warning:** The next chapter will contain slash. Touya and Yuki will be having a conversation _in the bathroom_, and while it is very mild and there will be NO sex involved AT ALL, I thought I'd give you this warning beforehand anyway.


	5. Chapter 4

**Warning:** This chapter contains Touya/Yuki slash. If yaoi is not one of the things you normally read, I suggest you don't go any further than the (- - -) sign. There is nothing major that happens during the conversation Touya shares with Yuki in the bathroom (I promise), so if you decide to skip the entire part, you won't miss anything huge. The scene was written mainly to expose Touya's feelings about her sister growing up and having a boyfriend, and his feelings about Syaoran. I could probably have written this in a less slashy way, but since Touya/Yuki was the main reason I got into CCS at all, I find it really difficult (and rather disloyal on my part) to write any CCS fiction without including their relationship. You've had your warning. Please don't send me hate mail and/or spam my review board with angry remarks concerning this particular matter. :)

* * *

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Four**

When Sakura entered her bedroom, she was welcomed by an ear-splitting shriek emanating from the TV area, more specifically from the carpet in front of the TV. She closed the door immediately, ssh-ing loudly at Kero. Glancing briefly at the screen, she saw that Kero had just crashed his yellow racing car in the game he had been playing almost nonstop since the day before. It was a newly released racing game that Suppie had sent, through Eriol, to him just a couple of weeks ago. Their ferocious competition in videogames seemed to have heightened to an alarming degree after Kero's glorious win in the previous game. Suppie had called him a cheater and vowed to fight to the death in the new game. When Kero found out that Suppie had had a good day's start on it, he screamed bloody murder and pledged to never leave the TV anymore, not even for food, a pact that Sakura found to be quite deadly where Kero was concerned. Although, hilariously cute as it was, Kero always ended up devouring the dessert Sakura brought him after dinner. Every night Sakura had to peel his fingers off the joystick, pick him up off the floor and put him in his bed so that she could get some sleep; otherwise Kero would literally stay up all night and all day in his mission to beat Suppie.

Sakura walked over to her bed and flopped onto her pink-covered, fluffy mattress, the calling card from Yukito held tightly in one hand. The face of the card was a scenic view of a water garden in Kyoto - a mass of green bushes and artistic lumps of rocks surrounding a curvy wooden bridge. On the back of the card she found the printed information on how to use the card, which network she would have to call before getting connected, a number for customer service, and a silver strip in which her password was concealed. Sakura hopped off her bed and rummaged through her wallet for a coin. She scratched the silver strip carefully until a series of number appeared. She picked up her cellular phone and brought it to her bed. Her thumb hovered over the _Talk_ button for a moment, she suddenly felt very nervous. She had not spoken to Syaoran since the day he left, which was weeks ago. True that they had been writing pages and pages of letters to each other every day, but talking to him for the first time after so long was nerve-wrecking nonetheless, even though they had known each other for the longest time and that he was, indeed, her boyfriend.

Sakura blushed at the thought of having Syaoran as her boyfriend, an idea that was still implausible to her. It felt as if only yesterday she had had a huge and helpless crush on Yukito and blushed every time she heard his name mentioned in any conversation. And now, she had a boyfriend. A real boyfriend who told her he missed her every day and wanted to go to beautiful places with her. A boyfriend who loved her back. It could not be real.

And yet it was. Every time the realization hit Sakura felt her heart grow bigger, blowing up like a balloon, and she felt like flying into the clouds and bouncing on them. One night she actually did it, literally, much to Kero's dismay, with help from the Fly and the Cloud. She had felt so light and jubilant afterwards that it took her hours before she finally got to sleep.

Still clutching the phone and calling card in both hands, Sakura threw her body onto the mattress, the back of her head hitting the fluffy pillow comfortably. She giggled thinking about Syaoran's letter, particularly about the part where he said he would be coming to visit in two days. Sakura turned to the side and closed her eyes, hugging the phone and calling card close to her heart.

"Syaoran-kun," she whispered. "I wish you could come sooner."

The images of Syaoran suddenly filled up her thoughts, making her blush even more and her heart thump three times faster. Normally she would immediately go to bed during moments like this, believing that she would dream of Syaoran, but tonight she had a calling card in her hand and her phone in the other. She could not just simply go to bed - she had to call him - she had to hear his voice and listen to him say he loved her. She wanted to fall asleep listening to his voice.

Sakura jumped up into a sitting position and, feeling confident and impatient at the same time, pressed the _Talk_ button finally.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyaaaaaah! Whaaaahahahahaha!"

"_Hoeeee!_ KERO-CHAN!" She dropped the phone in surprise.

"I finally did it! I finished the game!" Kero yelled, somersaulting in the air madly. "Take that, Suppiiiiiieee! The pride and honor are once again _miiiiiiiiine_! Ahahahahahaha!"

"_Kero-chan_!" Sakura leapt forward and grabbed him by his tail. "It's _late_! Turn your voice down!"

Worried that her brother and Yukito were disturbed by the commotion, Sakura tiptoed to her door and opened it a crack. She peered out to observe the corridor, especially the area around her brother's room, and let out a sigh of relief to find the house quiet and empty. She waited for a few moments anyway, though; just incase her brother had heard the ruckus after all and decided to stomp over to her bedroom to give her a good smack in the head, she would have time to lock her door.

By the TV behind her, Kero was still doing his crazy dance in the air and laughing manically. Shaking her head in disbelief, Sakura returned to sit on her bed, her eyes on Kero.

"Kero-chan," she called.

Kero turned to her and purred, "Hmmmmmmm?"

"If you don't stop whatever you're doing there, I am going to have you sleep on the sofa downstairs tonight."

"Eeeeh? Why?"

"Because I have a very important phone call to make and you're being too much of a distraction."

"But I just _won the game_!" he started, somersaulting again. "I bet _that Suppie_ hadn't even reached the desert yet, and after that he would still have to go through the caves and the mountains and the--"

"_Kero-chan_!"

He instantly stopped being crazy and just hovered in the air, an innocent expression on his face. "Anyway, I think it's time for me to go write Suppie a letter and rave about my victory," he said, acting as if Sakura never told him off. He went into his drawer and remained quiet. Despite the commotion Kero always made, Sakura had to admit that her life would not be complete without him.

Her attention returned to the phone and the calling card in hand. She pressed the _Talk_ button again and dialed the network number. Once connected, the computerized female voice asked for her secret password and the number she was calling. Sakura punched in her password and then Syaoran's cellular number. Her heart was about to explode when she heard a dial tone.

He picked up at the third ring.

"Syaoran-kun?"

A pause, and then, "Sakura . . .?"

She nodded, and blushed when she realized that he could not see her. "Yes. Yukito-san gave me an international calling card as a present after dinner tonight so that I can call you. I hope I didn't disturb you."

She was surprised at how easy the conversation flowed, as if they had never said goodbye at the airport and were never separated at all.

"No," he said quickly. "Not at all. How . . . how are you?"

"I'm very well. My studies are good, too. Oh, I received your letter today and I almost fell off a tree after reading it--"

"You what?"

"I, um, hehe - almost fell off a tree, because I was so happy to read that you're coming over."

"Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?" He sounded extremely concerned.

"I'm okay. Tomoyo-chan was there to help me. I have bruises on my legs, but they're really minor."

Syaoran sighed on the other side; his tone was worried when he spoke, "I didn't write that letter to put you in harm, you know. You have to be careful climbing those trees."

"Yes, I promise to be more careful."

Sakura closed her eyes and gripped the phone tighter. She imagined Syaoran was right there next to her and not hundreds of miles away across the ocean. She did not realize how much she had missed him until now. "Um, Syaoran-kun?"

"Yeah . . .?"

"_Ano_, Yukito-san said that if you don't have any place to stay here you can stay at his place. His grandparents are going to be gone for a very long time, so he's alone in the house and he could use some company. Of course, only if it's all right with you."

He was quiet, considering the offer. "Would it be all right with you?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Okay, then, I will let Tsukishiro-san know that I am staying over at his place."

Another pause. Sakura played with a loose thread on one of her pajama legs.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you called me." His voice was very soft and wispy. If Sakura did not know him better she would have thought he was crying. "I've missed you."

"I really miss you, too." She blushed. Majorly. "Is there any way you could come over sooner?"

He chuckled lightly, then . . . was that a sniffle? "I wish I could."

"Syaoran-kun, are you sick with a flu? I thought I heard you sniffling."

"I'm fine," he replied, then he repeated the statement with more confidence, "I'm fine."

"Onii-chan wants to treat you to dinner when you're here. He's working at a new diner that just opened by the Twin Bells. They have pretty good food there, and no _konnyaku_."

"Good. I hate that thing."

"Yeah, me too. Oh, and also, Tomoyo-chan said she will be very happy to see you, and, well, Kero-chan, too, though he would never admit it."

From the bottom drawer across the room Sakura heard a mumbling that sounded very much like _I didn't even know he was coming_.

"Um, well, I guess I should go," she said, albeit very reluctantly. The minutes on her calling card were running fast and she wanted to save as much as she could for future calls.

"Wait - Sakura."

"Yes?"

She waited a few seconds.

"Nothing," Syaoran finally said, his voice trembling a little. "I- I'll see you in two days."

"Safe trip, Syaoran-kun."

"Thanks. Um . . . "

"Yeah?"

"I - love you."

". . . you too," was all she could mutter before clicking off the phone.

Now she wanted to do what Kero had done before - somersaulting in the air freely and squeeing like a madman. But Sakura went to bed instead, covers kicked aside, phone and calling card both in hands. She went to sleep smiling.

- - -

Touya leaned his head all the way back until it touched the rim of the bathtub and put his feet up so that his entire body was immersed in the warm, apple-scented water. Closing his eyes, he stretched one foot to the other end of the tub and turned off the water tap. He sighed contentedly enjoying the peace and quiet, which unfortunately lasted only seconds, for suddenly he heard a muffled shriek followed by loud thumping coming from upstairs where Sakura's bedroom was. He jolted upright in surprise, but decided to just let it go and leaned back against the tub.

He heard the door slide open and a moment later felt a presence sit on the edge of the tub. Touya shifted a little in the water.

"A few days ago she talked to me about first kisses," he muttered softly.

"Oh dear," Yuki stated lightly, a tone of amusement thick in his voice. "Did it go well?"

Touya opened his eyes a crack and saw Yuki looking at him with a gentle expression that closely resembled his mother's, the corner of his mouth curving up into a small smile. "Yeah, it was okay," he replied. "She wondered whether people always know that the person they're in love with are the one they would spend the rest of their life with, or if their feelings were biased and mainly based on infatuation. I said that in my case, I know for sure, but many often make the wrong decision and end up getting hurt."

Yuki nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good answer." He dipped a butter-colored sponge into the soapy water, gestured Touya to sit up, and squeezed the heavily drenched sponge against Touya's shoulders and back, working his way from left to right.

"My mother once told me I should prepare myself for when Sakura comes to talk to me about these types of things, but I hoped and hoped that my dad would be around so that I wouldn't have to deal with it. Of course he has to be out of town now." Touya sighed and turned sideways a little so that Yuki could reach to his other side. "She came to talk to me, wanting to make sure that the feelings she has for him are true love, and asked me, just blatantly like that, how _I_ know for sure that I'm in love."

Yuki grinned and watered the sponge some more. "This is getting interesting." He motioned Touya to lean back so that he could work on his chest.

"I said that when you're in love you want to stay close to that special person at all times, always want to know if they're all right and if they're happy, and if they're not, you feel their pain more than they do. You want to see them at every chance you can get, sometimes you sacrifice important duties and make time to see them, and basically you think about them all the time. Sakura confirmed that she feels that way, but at the same time those are the very similar feelings she has for our dad, me, you, and Tomoyo as well."

"I think I might be partly responsible for making her think that way," Yuki confessed, his hand working around Touya's neck, over his shoulder and down to his left arm.

"You are _fully_ responsible for that," Touya said. Yuki chuckled. "So then I said that being in love with someone also makes you want to do certain things with them, too, things that you don't ever consider doing with family members. Like taking baths together," he glanced at Yuki and smirked naughtily, "or kissing on the lips. She went quiet after that, blushing like I never saw her blush before."

Yuki placed a finger under Touya's chin and turned his face towards him. "You're worried."

"Of course I am; he's practically a stranger to me."

Deep down Touya admitted that Syaoran Li truly was a nice enough boy to bring home to dad, and he had such incredible magical powers that even he, Touya, admired. _And_ his mother liked him. But it really was not Syaoran's personality that bothered him; it was the idea of being second best to Sakura that sometimes made him grumpy. In all honesty, he would have acted the same way if a different boy came to Sakura and told her he loved her. Syaoran just happened to apply for the position and was accepted almost on the spot. When Touya met Syaoran for the first time, he did not immediately realize why there were so many different alarms ringing at the same time inside his head. Later on he discovered that they had not been dangerous rings, but more like a reminder that he was going to see a lot of that boy in the near future and maybe even become related to him one day. At the beginning Touya indulged in the idea that there might be a tiny chance she would end up disliking him, though he knew that it was just a matter of time before they would start calling each other "sweetheart." The time was now, and he hated it. It would have been better if Syaoran had stayed smitten with Yuki because he knew that him and Yuki would have never happened.

"It's a good thing he's coming over - gives you a chance to get to know him a little better," Yuki said wisely, placing the sponge back in the wire holder. "My other self says that he's a nice boy and that you should give him a chance. This is saying something because he doesn't usually give opinions on anything - not even about you."

"I still don't have a good feeling about this. I don't know what it is, but it isn't _good_."

Yuki leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Touya's lips. "Stop worrying. They're not children anymore - they can take care of themselves. If you don't stop whining I will never kiss you again."

Touya reached up and placed a very wet hand on Yuki's nape. "Where did you get crazy threatening ideas like this, anyway? You used to be sweet."

"I still am."

Touya smiled and tugged at Yuki's hair gently. "You coming in?"

* * *

((ch. 5))

**Note:** The past two chapters have been rather challenging for me. I find it rather strange because in the anime Sakura's feelings are very well developed and thoroughly explored, and it really should be easier for me to write her point of view rather than Syaoran's. But I guess the fact that Syaoran's character is not very deeply explored in the anime helps me build his personality more. I apologize if my characterization is a bit off or inaccurate, though hopefully not too much. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. A warm and heartfelt thanks to **AirStriker** for your wonderful beta work! (I swear I won't ever mistype your name again!)


	6. Chapter 5

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Five**

He was ruthlessly awakened by the cheerful chirps of the morning birds. It really was his fault, he admitted, to have forgotten to close the window the night before, but he had been so wrapped up in a whirl of emotions that he could not be bothered to even take off his shoes before going to bed. Syaoran rolled over to the other side and pulled a pillow over his head. He could still hear those birds, one high-pitched twitter on top of the other. Groaning in annoyance, he peered from under the pillow and glanced at the clock on his nightstand - four a.m. It felt like he had slept for only a few minutes. He had stayed up until very late writing a letter to Sakura, telling her he would be visiting very soon, then marked the letter _Urgent_ and pushed it under Wei's door so that he could arrange to have it delivered by express mail first thing in the morning. And suddenly it was time to get up for his training. Time does not pity your soul.

He put on his training attire - white pants and top and black slip-on canvas shoes. In a few hours he would meet his future wife. In nine days he would be engaged to her for life. And the day after tomorrow he would fly to Japan and tell Sakura he had to leave her for good. Life was going absolutely splendid for him. With a sigh Syaoran closed his wardrobe doors and walked out of his bedroom. It was going to be a grumpy day for sure.

Meilin was waiting at the main entrance, fully clothed in her maroon training gear, hair pulled up in a high ponytail at the back of her head. She smiled at Syaoran and greeted cheerfully, "_Ohayo_!"

"_Ohay_-- why are you speaking Japanese at home?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, opened the door, and stepped outside. "Just don't want to forget my Japanese is all. It really is a beautiful language, don't you think?"

Syaoran followed her out the door. He breathed in the cool morning breeze, which felt a little too damp and smoggy that day. "Meilin, you hated Japanese - the language and food and practically everything else, too."

"No, I didn't. I liked my friends from school and the food was all right. I just didn't like the cold weather there; it always made me feel moody. Though come to think of it, all that snow was quite pretty after all. I would do anything to go back to Japan - maybe live there, even." She whirled around and grinned innocently at him. "But my mother would never let me live in a foreign country all by myself, so I was wondering if you would keep me company?"

Syaoran walked past her and jumped over a small wooden fence to enter the training grounds. "Don't do this, Meilin."

"See, I did my share of thinking last night," Meilin continued, jogging to catch up with Syaoran, who suddenly started walking really fast. "And I figured that if we both talk to our parents calmly and maturely and ask for their permission to send us to a university in Japan - well, Tomoeda really, because we're already familiar with that city - most likely they'll say yes. But I can't do this alone so I am going to need your help."

Syaoran stopped so abruptly that Meilin ran smack into him, face-first. Rubbing her throbbing nose, she took a couple of steps back.

"Stop it," Syaoran snapped. "If you want to help me then stop talking like this."

Halfway into the training grounds, Meilin spoke again in a timid voice, her head bent down. "I know how it feels to love someone so dearly and not receive the same feeling back." She looked up at Syaoran; her expression was one of misery. "But being unable to stay together with someone who loves you back must hurt a thousand times worse. I would not mind sharing your pain if you'd let me, so please don't shut me out."

"I've made my decision and I am not going to change it." Syaoran took his place on the platform in front of Wei. "And I'm not shutting you out."

_But you are doing exactly that right now_.

- - -

The Xiu entourage arrived in a shiny black Mercedes at three thirty sharp that afternoon. Leading the group was a tall, balding man in a crisp black suit, smiling widely from ear to ear as he walked towards the Li mansion. A young teenage girl walked gracefully on his side; her long, silky black hair swaying smoothly on her back in perfect rhythm with her flower-patterned summer dress. She had big dark brown eyes that sparkled against the afternoon sun, hooded with a pair of thick eyebrows hovering just a little above curly lashes. Cute dimples decorated her rosy cheeks, and when she smiled, a row of perfectly aligned teeth peered out of her small, pink lips. She was carrying a basket full of goodies. Behind her were two attendants carrying boxes wrapped in green ribbons.

Yelan walked down the stone steps and greeted Faikong Xiu with a hug. "Brother Xiu," she said, and kissed him on both cheeks. "It's been quite some time. You look well."

"And you look as stunning as always, Yelan," he said, hugging her back, his voice merry. "Good to see you happy and smiling. Please allow me to introduce Fang Yin, my daughter."

The girl curtsied before Yelan. "Auntie Li," she greeted in a voice as sweet as a ring of a tiny bell. Her eyes then swerved to Syaoran and she smiled at him. Syaoran admitted that she was, indeed, very pretty.

"Fang Yin has taken the liberty of baking various kinds of cookies and cakes for the Li family," Faikong said proudly. "She stayed up all night fiddling with her late mother's recipes and finally came up with these." The two attendants stepped up and presented the boxes to Syaoran's sisters. The mixed scents of strawberry shortcake and banana cream pie wafted past his nose.

"This is truly unnecessary, Fang Yin," Yelan said politely, "but thank you very much."

"I also made this gift basket for you." Fang Yin handed over the basket she was carrying. It was decorated with flowers and beautiful greeneries. "Something for your music room."

"Fang Yin intends to grace us all with her harp-playing later this afternoon," Faikong spoke again, placing a hand around his daughter's shoulders. "Are you still in possession of the late grandfather Li's harp, Yelan?"

"I am, indeed, yes. And it has been sitting in the music room for ages without anyone really playing it. Except for me, but lately I have found it more and more difficult to set aside some time for my hobbies anymore."

_That's true_, Syaoran thought. _Mother loves music but has been too busy to play anything, and we have a piano, a Chinese harp, several flutes, and tons of music books that are rarely touched anymore._

The introduction continued. Yelan presented her daughters one by one, having them curtsy before Faikong and shake Fang Yin's hand before finally introducing Syaoran. Faikong extended a hand at him. "You look so much like your father I would recognize you anywhere," he said.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Syaoran stated politely, and turned to Fang Yin and nodded at her.

Yelan gestured toward the door and escorted Faikong into the hall. "Shall we go into the living room while Syaoran and Fang Yin proceed to the gazebo for a little tea?"

He had not known that they were going to be left all alone. And in the gazebo? _The makeout spot_?

_And where the hell is Meilin, anyway?_

The older girls immediately disappeared to goodness knows where, and while Yelan and Faikong - his hand on the small of her back - began walking into the mansion towards the living room, Wei escorted Syaoran and Fang Yin into the backyard garden. Fang Yin's attendants followed about five feet behind them.

"I hope you like sweet things," Fang Yin said. Syaoran decided he liked her voice. "I really baked those especially for you."

"I do, actually - thank you."

"Syaoran-- " she paused. "Can I call you Syaoran?" He nodded. "Well, I am not going to beat around the bush here. I want you to know that I am very, very happy that we finally get to meet each other. I have been waiting for this day all my life."

That definitely came as a surprise to him.

"You knew . . . about me?"

"My father told me that I was to be married to a boy from the Li clan one day, and I knew there is only one boy in your family. You may not realize this at all, but you are very popular in Hong Kong, especially among girls our age. My friends think I'm the luckiest girl to be engaged to you. I've seen pictures of you in the newspapers and magazines and I met your sisters last year at a tea party that one of my best friends hosted for her birthday, so you can probably say that yes, I have sort of known about you. Though it is probably not the same in your case."

"Definitely not," Syaoran said, shaking his head a little.

"You were homeschooled and you never attended any of the social functions our society frequently hosted."

"I'm not really into those."

She gave a little laugh. "You are also famous for being cool - distant, that is. Some girls actually find you quite arrogant - in a flattering way, of course. You don't let many people get too close to you and vice versa. It must take a lot for you to open your heart to a woman."

They had reached the gazebo and he gestured her to step up onto it. A small round table had been prepared for them with beautiful tea things and a three-tier silver tray sitting in the middle of it, laden with savory finger food, cookies, and scones. He pulled up a chair for her, unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap. She looked up at him and flashed a gorgeous smile.

"The fact that you were busy capturing Clow cards in Japan did not go unnoticed, either."

His heart skipped a beat at the mention of Clow cards, his expression hardening. "I did not succeed in the task," he blurted, rounding the table to the vacant chair next to her.

"Oh, that's too bad. May I ask who did?"

"A girl." He picked up the scone tray and offered it to her. "Would you like one?"

She shook her head, thanking him, and reached for a piece of quiche instead. "Must be some powerful girl. Did you know her?"

"I went to school with her." He smeared marmalade on his scone and took a bite. _Now let's change the subject and talk about something different - anything._

But she did not let it drop. "What was she like?"

Syaoran poured hot tea into Fang Yin's cup and swirled sweetened condensed milk over it. "Fang Yin, we are not going to spend the entire afternoon discussing how I failed in capturing Clow cards in Japan, are we?" He noticed her staring at him with a curious expression.

She quickly apologized and averted her eyes to her cup. "It was not my intention to bring back bad memories. I am sorry."

"I'd much rather talk about you since this is the first time I meet you and all. What school did you go to?"

Frankly, he did not give a darn about her schooling, or what her plans were for the holiday, or why three of her goldfish died last year. She gladly chirped about her entire life story, though, from babyhood to when her mother passed away to last year. He did not forget to insert a little "Ah, I see" and "That's right" every now and then, but in all honesty he was not listening to anything Fang Yin was saying. He thought of Kerberos when he picked up a fruit tart - the plushie would have hated to know that Syaoran was sitting in front of three plates full of scrumptious sweets next to a girl who discarded everything on her plate after taking a quick nibble.

Sakura would have had better sense than that. She would take a small piece of cake and finish it, then take another one if she wanted more, rather than fill her plate up with as many pieces of food as she could and then throw away full-sized leftovers. Sakura was not a spoiled little princess, though she had a heart of a queen. Sakura would probably have not sat so neatly with her legs slanted a little to the side and both hands folded on her lap, but she would have been a lot livelier and much more fun to talk to; her pigtails would bounce up and down animatedly as she talked, her hands moving everywhere and her eyes gleaming like jewels, and her laugh would have been so much more spontaneous and natural, not strained and measured as if she might break the china on the table if she raised her tone another decibel. Sakura would have been clumsy and may have knocked the sugar bowl over the table by now, but she would have been fanciful and not just sat there looking pretty like a porcelain doll.

Syaoran glanced up at Fang Yin, who had now changed the subject to tea parties. She was beautiful and graceful; she belonged to some rich and handsome prince who lived on an ivory tower in some far away castle. She would spend her days embroidering handkerchiefs and playing the harp. She did not compare to Sakura in the slightest. Sakura belonged to _him_ and together they would explore the world in many whimsical adventures.

A yellow winged thing flew past the table. It resembled a certain winged plushie that Syaoran had begun to grow fond of. Without thinking twice, he jumped up from his seat and flung himself over the railing. He leapt onto a rock and, reaching out, captured the creature with both hands. Slowly he parted his hands a crack and peered into them. Syaoran let out a sigh of disappointment and released the butterfly, now fluttering limply into the air, for one of its wings had been dented.

He cussed softly and returned to the gazebo. _Get a grip of yourself_, he scolded himself._ This is not the time._

He apologized to Fang Yin and explained that he had thought it was one his Mother's canaries getting away. From the corner of his eye he saw Wei smiling; the old man knew his mistress did not fancy canaries. Looking nonplussed, Fang Yin suggested they take a walk in the garden and got up from her seat.

They were crossing the bridge to the other side of the long-extended garden when Syaoran accidentally looked up and noticed that Meilin's window was wide open. She was seated in front of her computer, looking thoroughly absorbed in whatever was on her screen and busy writing on a notepad. She was so deep in concentration that her brows met in the center of her forehead, her teeth chewing on her nails. Syaoran shifted a little to the side to get a better view of Meilin's screen. She was watching some kind of movie. He squinted and saw a yellow winged creature, unmistakably Kerberos this time, flying against a gust of wind in front of himself and Sakura. He had his sword drawn and Sakura's staff was in full size.

Syaoran froze, many different questions were thundering against his skull. Why was Meilin watching a recording of Sakura capturing a card? Which card was Sakura capturing? Where did she get the tape from and what was she writing on the notepad so furiously? How could he get a copy of it so that he could watch Sakura in action over and over again?

"Syaoran?"

He averted his eyes from the screen and turned to the girl next to him. His future wife was looking at him all concerned, her eyes studying him intently.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

He shook his head.

She placed a hand gently on his. "You had a girlfriend in Japan, didn't you?"

The question came so abruptly, her tone was nearly accusing. He was caught off guard, unprepared. He stared back at her dumbfounded, raw emotion flitting across his features.

"You're still in love with her," she said, comprehension dawning on her.

Fang Yin leaned against the railing on the bridge and looked down into the koi pond. Next to hers, Syaoran's expression was rigid. "I feel bad for her, however," she continued, her voice thick with emotion, "to have to give you up like this . . . she's probably so brokenhearted right now." She turned to look at Syaoran and his expression made her gasp. "Oh . . . she doesn't know?" Syaoran still did not say a word. "Well, you have to tell her right away. It'll be hard to do, but it has to be done. She was lucky to have your heart, but I am the one who gets to take you home in the end and it's only a matter of time before I can win your heart, too."

A koi fish flicked its tail in the pond and created ripples in the water; their reflections were distorted for a moment and in that single beat Syaoran missed a triumphant smirk playing on the corner of Fang Yin's mouth.

- - -

Meilin was in a bad mood when she stomped down the stairs for dinner. She had locked herself up in her bedroom for more than seven hours watching video after video that Daidouji had sent her through email, but found nothing potential in it to aid her in the mission to annul Syaoran's engagement. Nothing in those videos gave her inspiration at all, and she was getting desperate. Worse comes to worst, she realized, she could always fake a concussion and faint for a full day - that would definitely worry her aunt a great deal and she would cancel the event for sure.

To make matters worse, she had seen Syaoran and the Xiu girl taking a walk in the backyard garden; the girl was practically throwing herself at him and Syaoran seemed to _like _the attention. He had unfolded her napkin for her and poured her a cup of tea in the gazebo, and even blushed at something that she said. Meilin did not like the way she'd leaned in closely to talk to Syaoran or how she'd placed her hand gently on his. What was that all about, anyway, being touchy-feely all of a sudden like that? And Syaoran did not brush her off or even flinch - was he really starting to _like_ her? What was _wrong _with him? He was never into the flirtatious type of girl; he liked independent girls, girls who could take care of themselves and who did not need personal assistants standing by during tea to attend to their every need. Meilin realized she was getting a tad petty about Fang Yin Xiu, but she could not help it, and even if she could, she would not have, anyway.

Meilin pulled a folded sheet of paper out of her pocket and reviewed the list of cards she had written down while watching Daidouji's videos. The videos did not include the entire card collection, so Daidouji had sent her an additional list of cards that could not be filmed while being captured. Meilin had replayed each video three times and jotted down every card's name, its properties, uses and weakness. The list turned out to be so long that she finally decided to type up just the cards' names so that she could review it at any time she found suitable. She had drawn a circle around a card that she believed to be the most promising and made a mental note to mention it to Daidouji after dinner. She was very much interested in the Erase, too, and wondered for a moment if she could have Sakura use it to expunge Fang Yin Xiu.

She kept a few card names in mind so that she could mull over them during dinner and shoved the paper back in her pocket. Meilin continued descending the stairs and entered the dining room. Syaoran's sisters were grouped around one corner of the table, seemingly eating something out of a box and clucking ooh's or aah's every once in a while. Syaoran sat in his usual seat on his mother's left hand side, looking annoyed as he threw furtive glances towards his sisters.

"Good evening," Meilin said loudly in Japanese. Syaoran looked up at her and frowned.

"Where were you all day?"

She took a seat across from Syaoran and replied nonchalantly, "Up in my room, doing homework. Why?"

"Oh, no big reason, really," he answered, a tone of sarcasm apparent in his voice, "just hoping you could be a bit of a support while I was being fed to the sharks, that's all." His eyes were shooting daggers across the table, piercing deeply into hers.

"Seems to have gone well, though, didn't it?" Meilin leveled his gaze, her tone just as cynical. "You're still alive."

"Why am I getting a strange vibe saying you're angry at me? What have I done? What _could_ I have done?"

"I don't know, said no to the tea invitation instead of going along with it, maybe? Oh, and you could have said no to the engagement while you're at it, too, _and_ we could move to Japan."

"You're beginning to aggravate the living hell out of me, Meilin."

"Maybe when it erupts it'll clear up your mind's eye."

From the corner of the table, Feimei peered above her sisters' heads at Meilin and Syaoran, who were getting red in the face and looked as if they were ready to pounce on each other. "Hey," she called, "why don't you two try some of these cakes - they're heavenly."

"Cakes?" Meilin turned to Feimei. "You baked?"

"No, Fang Yin did."

Meilin scoffed and looked away, hands folded by her chest, chin up. "No, thanks. Might contain germs."

"As a matter of fact, they're very good," Xuehua chirped, her mouth covered in cream. "Try one, Meilin, come on." She placed a piece of banana cream pie on Meilin's plate and shoved a fork in the younger girl's hand.

Meilin poked at the pie gingerly, and, very carefully as if it would explode in her face, cut a small piece and threw it into her mouth. Her expression showed that she liked it, but after swallowing Meilin pushed her plate aside and returned to her sulking. "I could do better than that," she said, though not very convincingly. "Much better."

"No, you couldn't," Xuehua laughed, "--none of us can. This is exquisite work."

Pouting, Meilin got up and pushed her chair away.

"What's gotten into you?" Syaoran asked in a low voice. Meilin ignored him.

When she passed Wei on her way to the door, she told him to take her dinner upstairs.

* * *

((ch. 6)) 

**Note:** Meilin is my favorite character in the series. I love her. She used to annoy me a great deal when she was first introduced, but the more I learned about her, the fonder I became of her. I even see a little bit of myself in her, especially when she pouts and whines about the weather in Japan (hee hee). She values friendship highly and is fiercely loyal, both characteristics of which I own. But at the same time I envy her for having a personality trait that I wish so much to possess - confidence. A huge portion of it. She rocks.

Thanks **AirStriker** for the triple awesome beta work! (gives you a cold glass of cream soda)


	7. Chapter 6

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Six**

Syaoran loosened his seatbelt a tad and stared out the window at the ocean of floating clouds, his chin propped up on one hand, his legs stretched out on the footrest. The green airplane pillow sat on his lap limply, his hand playing with one corner of it, twirling the tip in between two fingers. He had been flying for about an hour and was getting unbelievably bored. None of the twenty-something channels available for viewing on the personal television interested him. He had also devoured both of the in-flight magazines and read the plastic card for emergency landing twice (if the plane were about to crash right there and then, Syaoran would be able to help the cabin crew evacuate the plane). Next to him, Wei sat quietly, reading a book with his headset on. There really was nothing much that Syaoran could do between then and lunchtime, which he wholeheartedly hoped would come soon so that he could do something more productive than staring out the window. Cloud-watching is cool when you're lying on your back in an open field, but when you're in an airplane, watching smoky gigantic white balls fly by hour after hour can get really depressing. Sometimes he got to see the ocean down below and for a moment he found the ripples of dark blue water astonishing, but five minutes later he longed for better entertainment.

Syaoran pushed the recliner button with his thumb and leaned far back into a sleeping position. He placed the green pillow underneath his head and glanced at his wristwatch - three hours and fifteen minutes to Japan. He would be growing gray hair by then. Syaoran admitted to have been eager to meet Sakura despite the predicament he was in. He had missed her so terribly that his heart ached - he wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh, and more than anything he wanted to hold her in his arms and bury his face in the fresh smell of her hair. Syaoran closed his eyes and sighed. In the past few hours he had managed to sweep the ominous image of the engagement to the very back of his mind; he had whistled a cheerful tune while packing his clothes the night before and had practically darted out of the car into the airport. The prospect of spending the next one and a half days with Sakura had made him grin stupidly all morning. Sakura's smiling face was all he had seen in his mind, such an empowering image that contributed to his loss of appetite. Thankfully, nobody forced him to finish his breakfast.

But now that he was alone in a quiet airplane chamber, the looming thought of the engagement suddenly prickled his senses like dust inside your nostrils, and he felt his stomach twist into a knot. He still had no idea how he would break the news to Sakura. He would _not_ act like a stupid daytime drama heartthrob and pretend that he had never cared for her after all, then turn into a coldhearted bastard and tell her he never wanted to see her again so that she could cry a thousand rivers, hate him, and then forget about him eternally. That may seem heart-wrenchingly heroic on TV, but in real life it was imprudent, even dishonest. At the same time, he did not want to spend his entire stay in Japan romancing her and then drop the bomb at the last minute. That would be downright callous and selfish. He wanted to be honest to both himself and her, and he wanted to do this the right way. But _what_ could possibly be the right way when the entire situation was not _right_ to begin with?

Syaoran turned to the window and began to watch clouds again. Why couldn't he have a normal, painless relationship like Yamazaki and Chiharu, and be perpetually happy? His long distance relationship with Sakura had felt dreadful and utterly unfair in the beginning, but now it seemed a hundred times more feasible than a compulsory marriage. His father truly had been an egotistical bastard.

Fang Yin had stopped by for a visit the day before; she had heard that Syaoran was going to Japan and wanted to bid him goodbye personally. After lunch, they took a walk in the woods behind the mansion where she gave him the warmest hug and then slipped a piece of pink silk handkerchief, claimed to be her personal favorite, into Syaoran's hand to remind him of her.

_"I have always wanted to go to Japan," she said. "You are so lucky to have had the opportunity to live there. Are you going to visit friends?"_

_He gave a small nod._

_"You're going to see her, aren't you? Your girlfriend - you're going to tell her it's over between you two."_

_Another nod._

_"I really wish it did not have to end up like this . . ." her voice sounded so genuine, like she was just as brokenhearted as he, "--but I love you, too. I kept hearing people talk about you either in school, at parties, or during family reunions. They spoke so highly of you and told me I was lucky to have been betrothed to you. The girls told me you are good-looking and possess such powerful magical abilities that you were sent to Japan to capture Clow Cards all by yourself. They also said that even though you often seem cold and distant, deep inside you are a very kind person, someone who is easy to love."_

_Fang Yin looked up, her eyes were smiling at him._

_"And I fell in love with you instantly. It feels like I have known you my whole life. When we finally met yesterday I fell in love with you all over again and I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that we will soon be starting our life together. I don't want to be someone who destroys your happiness with this girl -- but at the same time . . . " she looked away so that he would not see the tears pooling in her eyes, "--at the same time, I don't want to let you go. I _cannot_ let that happen because you are the one I was born to spend my life with. The engagement will put a finality to it and even though you don't love me--"_

_"I can learn," he heard himself speak, "--to love you. I can learn to love you."_

_Fang Yin rested her head on Syaoran's chest, circling her arms around his waist. "Thank you," she whispered with a smile._

Syaoran sat up and buried his face in both hands. He was not sorry to be born the only successor to the Li clan; he was not sorry to have opened his heart and let himself love and be loved; he was not sorry to have existed.

He was not sorry to have met Sakura and fallen in love with her.

But his heart was breaking and he felt like dying.

A hand tapped him gently on his shoulder.

"I'm all right, Wei," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Would you care for some lunch?"

"I'm not hungry." His palms brushed against his eyes and he saw that they were wet.

"You have to eat a little, Master Syaoran. Maybe a small piece of bread?"

He settled with a fruit plate eventually and managed to nibble on a slice of watermelon.

- - -

"Kinomoto-san! Table five needs a glass of iced tea!"

Touya balanced two trays full of orders on one hand and whirled back into the kitchen to fetch a glass of iced tea. "Coming right up!" he yelled out to his co-worker.

The mixed aroma of cheeseburger, French fries, strawberry milkshake, banana split, and a plate of deep-fried croquettes emanating from the platters on his hand tickled his nose and for a moment he was tempted to steal a fry. Thanks to a ten-page research paper he had to do for a class, Touya had spent the entire afternoon in the library and skipped lunch, and although his paper was in good shape now, his stomach was throwing a hissy fit.

Touya filled a tall glass with ice cubes, sprayed tea over them all the way to the top and stuck a white straw into it, and then swung back out of the kitchen to serve the tables outside. He glanced at the clock on the wall on his way out and was glad to see that his shift would be over in five minutes; after that, a very quick dinner at home and then he would be back to the paper. He had planned to work from home tonight because that _boy_ was going to come over and he did not feel comfortable leaving Sakura alone. He had invited Yuki over as well so that they could do their papers together, but unfortunately Yuki had a huge pile of laundry to get rid of and decided to stay at his grandparents'.

"Excuse me, mister," a little girl called, tugging at the end of Touya's shirt. "Could I please get a strawberry-banana smoothie?"

Touya glanced at the clock - four minutes. "Okay. Anything else I can get for you?" His eyes swept around the table at the girl's parents and older brother, all of whom shook their heads, muttering a thank you. Touya jotted down the girl's order and disappeared into the kitchen.

When he came back out carrying a glass of salmon-colored smoothie, he heard the doorbell ding, a sign that a new customer had just walked in. From the corner of his eye Touya noticed the person standing by the door, waiting to be seated. His co-worker was busy taking orders from the table in the far corner of the diner, which means that he had to greet and serve this new person despite the time.

Touya turned around and froze at the sight of Syaoran Li. The boy had grown a few inches taller than the last time he had seen him, which had only been a few weeks back, and now he was almost as tall as Yuki. He seemed to have lost quite some weight - his cheekbones were finely accentuated against his pasty features and his collarbones framed the base of his throat more vividly than before. However, it was apparent that he had been working out to get that flattering tone on his arms and his chest seemed to have broadened a little, too. He still carried a certain air of aloofness that made him look dashingly arrogant, but his eyes were calm and gentle, making him look quite irresistibly handsome.

Touya heard murmurs coming from a table on the opposite side of the door, where a group of young girls sat sharing a dish of banana split. They were throwing furtive glances at Syaoran, whispering and giggling at each other. _This_ was the other reason Touya resented the boy's existence in his sister's life. Even at thirteen he was already becoming such a head-turner, give it five more years and Sakura would be brokenhearted.

Syaoran's brown eyes, hidden behind a thin layer of bangs, were staring at him intensely. Those eyes had been sharp and contained so much energy but were now subdued and droopy. Touya wondered if jetlag was the only cause.

To his surprise, the boy bowed at him, his mouth forming a friendly smile. Normally Touya would frown whenever he saw Syaoran Li, but this time he nodded back.

"I imagine you would've gone straight home," he said, motioning Syaoran to the vacant seat at the table by the door. "You haven't forgotten the way?"

Syaoran shook his head. "No, not at all. I wanted to stop by here first."

"Anything to drink or eat?" Touya pulled a notepad and pen from his back pocket, eyes studying the boy before him.

"No, thanks," Syaoran answered. "May I just have a word with you?"

His brotherly intuition had sensed this the moment he had laid eyes on the boy moments ago.

"I'll be right back," he said, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Touya took off his apron and hat and slid his time card into the machine to punch out. He grabbed a copy of the schedule for next week from the pile on the telephone stand and yelled a goodbye to his co-worker and the cook. Knowing that he would not get home until later, Touya snatched a wrapped up double cheeseburger and fries on his way out. He was surprised to find his co-worker and the cook standing by the kitchen door, staring out and grinning mischievously from ear to ear.

"Looks a little young for you," his co-worker said. "But very nice choice, I must admit."

Touya peered from behind their shoulders and sighed when he realized they were staring at Syaoran. "That one belongs to my sister," he said, "which makes it worse."

He pushed the swinging double doors open and, putting his jacket on, approached Syaoran.

"Let's go to the park," he said and held the door open for the boy.

- - -

Touya unwrapped his cheeseburger and took a big bite, and then he ripped open the top of the fries bag and offered it to Syaoran. The younger boy refused politely and instead took a sip of cream soda from the can in his hand, which he had purchased from the machine on the road. They were sitting on a bench in the Tsukimine Shrine park, enveloped by the humble rays of the late afternoon sun that were blushing yellowish pink against the ground. Around them trees were rustling in the calm of the breeze, leaves swaying up and down on the branches, creating a peaceful sound. A bunny rabbit leapt out of the bushes next to Syaoran and ran across the street into the forest. Syaoran took another sip of his soda and leaned forward to get into a more comfortable sitting position, his elbows resting on his knees, his head bowed.

"Thanks for staying out late to talk to me," he said in a clear voice, glancing up at Touya.

"Did you come here alone?"

"My caretaker Wei is with me. He's staying at a hotel in the city."

Touya finished his afternoon snack in a matter of seconds. He gulped his juice down to the very last drop and then dumped the bottle, cheeseburger and fries wraps in a trashcan nearby.

"There is something really important that I need to tell Sakura tonight," the boy next to him spoke, his hands playing with the soda can. "But I wanted to talk to you first; I want to make sure you understand the matter clearly so that when you see her all troubled, you won't feel obligated to hunt me down and kill me."

Touya scoffed. "That sure puts me at ease. You really know how to start a conversation."

"Not only that," Syaoran continued as if Touya never said anything, "I also feel comfortable talking to you about this because . . . if there is anyone at all who can fully understand my situation, it's you."

He found it difficult to begin at first, but once he started talking, he could not stop. It felt relieving to finally be able to speak so freely about the problem that had been looming over him and pinning him down, constricting his every move and locking up his mind in the past couple of days. Syaoran did not care much that it was Sakura's brother, who seemed to despise his existence with his heart and soul that was sitting there next to him, listening to his every word. It felt like talking to a diary spilling out his anguish, misery, and fear very trustingly as if he had cut his soul open and given Touya a full view of everything that was inside. He had never spoken this openly to anyone before, not even to Meilin.

Touya listened to the boy intently and watched Syaoran's expression dim little by little as he talked about his father's dying wish, the binding word of honor that he would have to recite in a week's time, and his fear of starting a life with a girl he hardly knew. The look on Syaoran's face was tainted with agony; muttering every word seemed to torment his entire being, killing him slowly. When the boy was finished, Touya felt his chest tighten with emotion. He placed a hand gently on Syaoran's back and felt it shiver under his palm.

"I thought it was presumptuous of you to say that I would understand the situation," Touya spoke softly, "but now I can see what you meant."

"You understand how it feels to have someone you love unconditionally - so much that you would die for them - yanked away from you so abruptly and forcefully. The thought of never having that person in your life again, physically or otherwise, is so excruciating that you feel like dying, because you know that it would be much better than living without them." Syaoran's eyes were clouded with sorrow so thick that Touya nearly choked when he looked at him. "I am being pulled away from Sakura in the most unfairly way imaginable, and I am too powerless to stop it."

"I took the drastic route," Touya said, "which was the only option I had. I loved him so deeply that my own personal being somewhat vanished and became utterly insignificant compared to his existence."

"It was really honorable of you to do what you did," Syaoran stated sincerely. "I admire you for that, and I know he does, too."

"I received a lot of help, mostly from him, so why don't you let her help you?"

"I don't dare hope for help from her when I know she will hate me for the rest of her life."

"She's not that kind of person," Touya cut off quickly. "She has a tremendous light inside of her that provides strength to everyone around her, everyone she loves - _you_, especially. It has always been her nature to help others and to care for them, so if she offers, don't say no. When you tell her, tell her quickly and don't falter. That way she won't get a chance to see the agony in your face and then mull over it for a long time."

Syaoran was taken aback by the smile that was gradually forming on Touya's mouth - a real, honest, and gentle smile.

"Thank you," he whispered almost inaudibly. "Thank you for the talk and advice--" he looked up at him, "--and for trusting me."

* * *

((ch. 7))

**Note:** This chapter has been re-written three times - the first try was too to-the-point and utterly short, and the second overly drama and emotional. Life at work has been quite rough in the past week and I guess being stressed affected my writing more than I thought it could. I seemed to have inserted too much of my own anguish into this chapter in the beginning that when I re-read the whole thing I wondered if I was writing about myself instead of Syaoran. I feel very comfortable with this final draft, though, and I hope you liked it, too. :) The upcoming chapters should be a lot more interesting with Syaoran visiting Sakura at her home and telling her about the engagement, and of course, there is a story of the engagement itself yet to be posted (yes, it _will_ happen). Everything from this point on has been outlined and I just need to (find time and) write it all out! Thank you everyone who has posted encouraging reviews and comments - you are so awesome! Please kindly review this one, too, okay. :)

**A giant hug** to **AirStriker** for your uberly wonderful beta work. :D


	8. Chapter 7a

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter 7a**

"I'm home!"

Sakura placed the load of laundry on top of the washing machine and peered out of the door to see her brother's tall figure slip into the house.

"Dinner's on the table!" she exclaimed, and returned to loading the machine with whites and socks. "I made sausage-and-egg skewers." She heard her brother's footsteps entering the dining area, followed by the clinking sound of cutlery and dishes.

"Ihakemoukihauf," Touya mumbled incoherently.

"You'll do what?"

"I'll take mine to Yuki's house. I won't be back until later tonight so you're going to have dinner by yourself."

"That's all right. Hey, take some skewers for Yukito-san as well. I made enough for everybody 'cause I thought he was coming over for dinner. Oh, don't forget the rice!"

In all honesty, she was not expecting just Yukito to have dinner at home, and in reality, she had made skewers enough to feed the entirety of her school population. Just in case. She knew Syaoran loved sausage-and-egg skewers as much as she.

Half of her upper body was inside the washing machine as she fought to untangle two pairs of pajamas when Touya tiptoed into the laundry room. He tapped her lightly on the head. "Oy."

Sakura pulled her body out of the machine, knotted pajamas in hand, and looked up. Her brother was standing behind her, one hand holding two skewers, lips moving vigorously munching on food. His eyes were fixed on the pile of laundry on top of the machine. She followed his gaze and privately let out a sigh of relief that most of _his_ clothes were already done.

"I'll get everything done before you get home, I promise. I know I was supposed to do this earlier but I got busy cooking and--"

"There's a package with your name on it at the door," Touya interrupted her nonchalantly. He swallowed and then opened his mouth for a new piece of sausage. "It's a big one, too," he continued with his mouth full, "so if you don't pick it up right away people may trip on it and fall."

"A package . . .?" Sakura's eyes widened. "Who is it from? When did it arrive?"

"It just came."

"But I didn't hear the doorbe--"

"Anyway, I have to go. Lots of papers to write. Good job on the skewers; Yuki's going to love it."

Sakura dropped the twisted pajama bottoms into the machine and rushed out of the laundry room to catch up with her brother. "Did you take the rice?" she called out.

She was halfway down the corridor when she noticed something - some_one_ - standing in the entrance hall. Yukito was the only friend that her brother ever brought home either for dinner or to stay over, but this person was a tad shorter than Yuki and his hair was much darker. A warm smile appeared on his lips when he saw her, his kind and gentle eyes staring at her tenderly. For a moment she forgot to breathe.

"Yes, I took the rice," Touya muttered, slipping into his shoes, one hand holding a plastic bag containing his and Yuki's lunchboxes. "Don't worry about the laundry, I'll do it when I get back. Don't stay up too late."

Sakura remained rooted to the floor. She could hear a voice in her head answering to her brother, but her tongue refused to speak. Touya's figure was fading into a blurry silhouette little by little and all she could see was the boy at the door, smiling at her, bowing his head at her, and looking at her in such a way that turned her knees into jelly. She felt her body melting into a pool of mush and hoped her brother would not have to mop her off the floor.

"Sakura?" Touya called; he was standing by the door looking rather impatient.

"Yes," she answered, her voice small and whispery. "I mean no, I won't stay up too late. Good luck with your paper and say hello to Yukito-san for me. Oh, _onii-chan_--" Hand on the doorknob, Touya turned around, sighing and glancing at his wristwatch. "--th . . . thanks . . . for delivering the package. I'll . . . make sure to pick it up." She blushed. Touya rolled his eyes before saying goodbye and slipping out of the door.

There they were, finally alone, finally _together_ - but why was it so difficult for her to speak, or even move? This was the boy she cared about the most and dreamed of night after night, the boy that she wrote long letters to ever so diligently on a daily basis, the boy that she trusted and loved with all her heart - and now that he was here, she was tongue-tied and felt numb as she stood stupidly like a frozen sculpture in the corridor.

Syaoran walked up the steps, eyes fixed on hers, lips curled upwards.

She had put on a nice beige shirt and a new pair of white shorts, she had brushed her hair many times so as to make it shine, and her new hair ties perched cutely on her pigtails. She was wearing the pin from Rika which Tomoyo called the winged hope. She had readied herself to meet him, but now that she was standing face to face with him, he could not see any of that thanks to the old, patched-up apron that she had thrown on earlier that day. She smelled like sausage-and-egg skewers and her hair probably looked funny after her dive into the washing machine. This was all so sudden and surprising and embarrassing . . . but sweet and romantic and lovely at the same time. She was giddy. She felt like Cinderella getting a surprise visit from Prince Charming at her home, in her work clothes, covered in soot and ashes, and feeling afraid the prince would not recognize her.

_But this prince did_. He walked across the corridor towards her and stopped close enough for her to touch. His voice was soft and smooth in her ear when he said her name, very much different from how it had sounded over the phone the other night. It was more melodious, and so _close_.

"Am I dreaming?" she whispered, searching his eyes for an answer. She was afraid to blink in case she truly was dreaming and he would disappear in that split second. "If I am then I don't ever want to wake up again."

He shook his head and then, taking a quick step forward, extended his arms and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm here."

- - -

If only time could stop right there and then.

She was _there_ in his arms, hugging him closely to her heart, whispering his name and telling him she was happy that they were finally reunited. His eyes fluttered closed as he buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her and making a memory of everything. She smelled like laundry detergent and apples and cotton candy and green tea altogether. Her hair was silky soft against his cheeks, caressing his skin like feather. He loved how her head fit in the crook of his neck so perfectly as if it was sculpted specially for him. It felt so blissfully _right_ being wrapped in her arms, surrounded by the warmth of her house and accompanied by the sound of their hearts, beating in rhythm. He did not want to let go - he simply _couldn't_.

"Sakura," he breathed into her hair. Cold fear swirled in his chest as the realization of what he was about to do began to dawn on him; he tightened his arms around her and swallowed a couple of times to wash down the aching lump that was gradually forming in his throat. "Can we sit down for a bit? There's . . . something . . . very important . . . that I . . . need to discuss with you." It was a great effort to force every word out of his mouth that he felt a tad out of breath at the end of the sentence.

Her eyes were the purest pair of jades, gleaming brilliantly under the light, gazing up at him with childlike innocence. They reminded him of a newborn baby's eyes - curious, innocuous, smart, and beautiful.

He pulled away just a tiny bit without removing his arms from around her waist and stared back at her, misty-eyed all of a sudden, his smile wavering. There was a touch of sadness flitting across his features that she did not quite comprehend. She wondered about it for a second, then shrugged it off and smiled up at him.

"We can talk after dinner," she said gleefully, taking hold of his hand and gently tugging on it. "C'mon, I'm _starving_."

She pulled him into the dining room and motioned him to take a seat across from her at the table, the way they had sat only weeks ago when he had come over for a spaghetti dinner. He followed her obligingly. She scooped up two bowls of rice and placed one bowl in front of him, and then she took out an oval-shaped platter from one of the drawers and piled up skewers on it, each stick holding a rose-colored sausage, its top peeled out like flower petals, a small slice of onion, lined after the sausage, a tiny chunk of green bell pepper, and a quail egg, white and hard-boiled. Finally, she placed a small bowl of steamed leafy green vegetables next to the platter.

She unfolded her napkin and sat down, facing him, holding her teacup.

"For the joy of being reunited," she said, and raised the cup. He did the same and they both took a sip of their tea. "I hope Meilin-chan isn't too sad that she could not come with you."

"I think she's fine," Syaoran said, picking up a stem of vegetable, "though she's been acting kind of funny lately."

"How so?"

"Well, she seems angry at me for some reason, and I don't know what I have done." He chewed on his sausage and swallowed.

"Have you tried asking her?"

"Yes, and she said if I can't figure it out then I am as dumb as a rock buried at the bottom of the sea. Whatever that means."

"Maybe she's hinting you to take her to the beach?"

"I doubt it. Anyway, she said to say hello to you. She would love to come visit some time in the near future . . . possibly without me." He took a sip of his tea. It was the same brand that he used at home, but for some reason this one tasted better. "Where is Kerberos?"

"He's staying at Tomoyo-chan's house. It was her idea, really, to keep him there for a while so that you and I can have a talk to catch up on things. I thought it would be too much trouble at first, because Kero-chan likes to eat and he snores, but I was outnumbered. When he heard that Tomoyo had baked cookies and cakes especially for his visit, he made a pact to be her slave and never leave her side until she releases him, whenever that may be." She shook her head, her pigtails bouncing up and down. "Kero-chan really has no shame. I just don't know what to do with him sometimes."

"The complete opposite of Yue."

She nodded. "Yes, and I don't know what to do with _him_, either - he's intimidating and cold and _mean _sometimes, but he's intelligent and generous, too. I haven't seen much of him lately. Yukito-san has been very busy working on his paper and taking care of house chores while his grandparents are away, so he seldom comes here. Onii-chan said that once their papers are done, he's bound to come visit again and will devour anything edible that he can find."

He stole a glance at her. "You still like him, don't you?"

She grinned. "I like him like a brother now. He truly is a very kind person and an extremely understanding friend; he's so easy to like."

"Hmm."

"Um, you're not jealous, are you?"

"No, of course not! What kind of a question is that?" He turned beet red instantly.

"A simple one." She covered her mouth to hide a giggle. "You're blushing, though."

"I'm not!"

"Well, your ears are red, and so are your cheeks and the spot under your eyes and--"

"It's . . . the tea's too hot and I burned my tongue, that's all."

"Oh, would you like me to pour a bit of cold water into your cup?"

"No, no, no. That . . . that really won't be necessary. Um, the tea's fine." He averted his eyes and concentrated on his rice.

What was this, now? He was having a casual conversation with her about Kerberos and her best friend and Yue. This was not supposed to happen; he was not supposed to stay this long at her house at all. The original intention was to show up, tell her about the engagement, and then leave. It should not have taken more than half an hour.

But there he was sitting at her dinner table, having the best meal he had tasted in a long time, and talking to her as normal as if the past few days had never happened. The engagement seemed to have evaporated from his mind like morning dew before the sun. She made him feel at ease, the same way he felt when he sat on a tree branch, high above the ground where he could observe the entire world around him. She exuded tranquility and he felt right _at home_ around her. All stress gone, he was completely soothed.

He was tempted to postpone telling her about the engagement; if he could keep her for just a little bit longer, just long enough to ease his pain and dab his wounds, it would not be so bad. She did not have to know about the engagement now, he could always tell her later. Maybe over time she would eventually forget him, find another man, and then leave him. But no, he would never lie to her like that. He had always managed to express his feelings to her either through letters or in person, and that is exactly what he would do now.

It had been forty-five minutes since he had stepped into her house, and now he was helping her clean up in the kitchen, the talk of engagement pushed to the dusty corner of his mind, seemingly abandoned. He loaded the dishwasher with their dinner things, poured detergent into the little dispenser, closed the door, and pressed the _On_ button. Standing by the counter, she transferred leftovers from the platter into three plastic boxes and shoved them into the refrigerator. From the bottom rack she pulled out a plate of custard pudding, which he cut two slices of. He placed each slice on a small dessert plate and she poured vanilla syrup over them.

The both of them leaned against the kitchen counter, eating pudding and laughing about Yamazaki's latest jokes. They talked about school, desserts, and amusement parks. They talked about Eriol and his English lifestyle, which then prompted a discussion about English desserts and amusement parks, and how they were different from Asian ones. Finally, she took off her apron and invited him into the living room.

She took the winged hope off her shirt and cradled it in her palm, showing it to him, and recited the legend. She was happy to find that he, too, believed in the tale. Sitting down, he cupped her hand with both of his and observed the pin under the light. She asked him to make a wish, and he did. The pin glinted once, twice, three times.

"What did you wish for?" she asked, grinning, claiming the spot beside him on the couch.

"I can't tell you or it won't come true," he replied, hiding a smile.

"But you can, though. I told Tomoyo-chan what mine was."

"Really? What was it, then?"

"Um, I can't tell you."

He chuckled. "And why not?"

"Well, it's embarrassing because it's about you."

He felt something refreshing wash over him, like cold water in the middle of a desert. He moved forward on the couch and touched her on her cheek. He placed a finger under her chin and brought her face to him. Her gaze was full of love and adoration - it made him smile.

"I wished for you, too," he whispered, leaning forward, suddenly feeling woozy being this close to her.

His heart thudded violently against his ribcage, the pulse underneath his thumb throbbing along with it. Her breath was warm against his upper lip, her wide, innocent eyes gazing into his. His hand closed around hers, their fingers entwined. Something cold and solid jabbed into his palm - her pin.

- - -

They were swathed in orbits of bright light coming from every direction - white, yellow, orange, and beige shooting towards them chaotically. Star-shaped bits of glitter flew around them like fireflies, surrounding them, covering them with a shimmering gleam so thick it was overwhelming. Bright arrows darted towards them out of nowhere, aiming at their faces but disappeared before they hit. He gathered her up in his arms and closed his eyes, willing for it all to disappear. Moments later, it vanished - all the lights, dizzying swirls of brightness, arrows, stars, glitter - gone. He waited for a few seconds and dared himself to open his eyes a crack.

He stood up and looked around frantically, searching for the source of whatever it was that had been ignited moments ago. Everything seemed normal, none of the furniture singed or blackened. It had not been a fire, after all. The smell of sausage-and-egg skewers still lingered in the air, the house was quiet and undisturbed. He hurried to the window and stuck his head outside. The moon hung faintly in the sky as the sun retreated and the world was bathed in a bluish hue - it would have been mesmerizing otherwise.

Had it been a trick of light during sunset? Was it the electrical current in the house?

He closed the window and returned to the couch. She had not moved from her spot, though her expression was now one of utter shock. In her hand lay a sheet of card with her magical sign on the back - a star in the middle and the moon and the sun on its sides.

She looked up. The sad and troubled expression on her face bothered him.

Her voice was shaky and wet when she spoke. "Earlier you said you wanted to talk to me about something - what is it?"

"What's in your hand?" He approached quickly and reached for the card.

Her head fell limply as she stared back at the card. He saw a tear slip from her eye and drop onto the card. It gleamed like ice in the winter.

She put the card face down on the couch, palm rested on top of it as if to guard it. She was determined to not let him see the card before he talked. Something was very, very wrong indeed - she could not be more positive about it. Such a card could not have been generated otherwise. And why did she have such a dreadful feeling - a feeling of emptiness, hollow and lonely, so strong that it choked her and suffocated her? It had hit her so abruptly and intensely that she could not help a tear from falling. The wave of emotion was overwhelming and hard to control, but as she focused she realized that it had come from _him_. An emotion so raw and coarse it could slice a soul - and she shivered to find that it already had. She was falling deeper and deeper into nothingness, a place so dark and painful, and although she could not see what awaited her down below, she knew it would rip her off of happiness. She felt like a thousand knives were stabbing through her skin and through her heart. She clutched her chest with one hand and gasped for air.

A feeling so vile, so poisonous - a feeling that could kill. _What is this feeling?_

She gazed at him with pleading eyes. "Please," she begged, "tell me what it is."

Lying face down on the couch was a card with a picture of a teardrop on the front - pointy top and a fat, round bottom - icy blue and sparkling white, slashed with a long silver sword. Its name was printed in black underneath, viciously clear: _The Despair_.

* * *

((ch. 8))

**Note:** When I started this story I'd thought I could finish it before my vacation, but very unfortunately that is no longer happening. I never intended to make this story so long (mainly because I didn't think anyone would like it); my original plan was to have ten chapters max. My husband and I are leaving this Tuesday to Hawaii and won't be back until the end of next week, so Winged Hope will be put on pause for a while for that very reason. In all honesty, I also need a break. I've been working on this story pretty much nonstop since April 18, and I guess my brain's getting a bit dull and needs some sharpening done. You all can probably see the difference in my writing style between the first chapter, which was so much more detailed and illustrative, and this one, which (now that I've re-read it) seems rushed. It makes me wonder if I have reached that point where I'm simply writing just to get the chapter done and over with, and meanwhile neglecting the yummy little details. I don't normally write like that - that's not me. So hopefully the vacation can help rejuvenate my muse! In the last couple of days I've had to struggle to start Chapter 8 and gotten as much as two sentences typed. Yeah. Last night I got so frustrated with it and decided to go to bed before I'd do something dumb like throw the laptop to the wall, lol. I have everything outlined to the very end already, so the story _will_ get finished. Sorry to leave it hanging like this, though hopefully it isn't too much of a cliffie. I have also been thinking of getting a second beta-reader so that **AirStriker** doesn't get too overwhelmed (loves her immensely) - if anyone is interested, please contact me via email. :)


	9. Chapter 7b

**Note:** Since this is a significantly short chapter, I decided to label it Chapter 7b instead.

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter 7b**

_I know that we'll meet again;_

_fate has a place and time._

_So you can get on with your life,_

_I've got to be cruel to be kind._

Sakura sat with her hands folded on her lap, head down, eyes focused on her interlaced fingers. The newborn card lay flat face down on the coffee table in front of her, the star in the middle glinting teasingly against the light. She opened her palm and caressed the surface of the winged hope with her other forefinger; her thoughtful expression was tinged with sadness. Syaoran had not expected her to throw a tantrum or cry her lungs out upon hearing the news, like Meilin would probably have done if she were in Sakura's position, but dead silence proved to be even more overpowering. He wanted to know what was going through her mind - did she hate him? did she want him gone? He wanted to see anger and frustration tainting her features and tears streaming down her cheeks, but instead he saw calmness and even comprehension, and that bothered him a great deal.

He sat up straight on his side of the couch, hands on knees, eyes on the coffee table. He listened to the clock ticking on the wall and the thunderous thudding of his heart; he even noticed the air breezing past his ear. After a few moments, which felt like a whole night to him, he glanced sideways at her only to find the same calm and understanding expression on her face. Why wasn't she speaking? Did she not care at all? Wouldn't she like to know how he felt about everything? He wanted to let her know that he had suffered in the past few days, and that he wished to find a way to undo things. He wanted her to ask him how he felt, because he was not going to blurt it all out voluntarily and put her in agony.

More than anything . . . _Ask me to stay. With you. Here. Tell me you wish for it._

_And then what?_ another voice spoke in his head. _Would you break your promise to your family and stay?_

She looked up and turned to him, the winged hope clasped in one hand tightly while her other hand reached for his fingers and held them. Her eyes were big and round, dazzlingly innocent as her mouth widened into a smile. He remembered that smile - a smile so comforting, mesmerizing - a smile that could melt a thousand hearts - the smile he had fallen for and had faithfully loved ever since. It was happening all over again: his heart was racing for her and warmth crept up his cheeks just like it had done a couple of years before. He recognized the feeling - he was falling for her yet once more - all because of that smile.

_Yes_, he answered silently. _Yes, I would stay. Please ask and I'll stay._

"Syaoran-kun," she spoke, her voice cool and composed. He nodded faintly, eyes on hers. She paused for a short moment and then continued, "Congratulations. She is a very lucky girl. The two of you will be happy together."

He was numbed by it. His stomach lurched in a funny way as if he had missed a step and was falling face-first towards concrete ground; he felt as if the air had evaporated from him like steam.

He swallowed a couple of times to gain composure. "You--" He looked at her, perplexed. "I mean, aren't you _angered_ by all this?"

"Of course not," she said with a genuine smile. Her voice was normal, cheerful. It infuriated him that she was so calm and even seemed _joyful_ about this. "How can I be mad for something so wonderful that'll make you happy? You have made your decision and I am happy for it."

This was definitely not what he had expected. Very far from it, in fact.

"Yes, I truly am," she spoke again. "I'm happy for you. I wish you everlasting happiness and a lot of luck. I heard married life could be intricate and bumpy sometimes, though I can tell that yours is going to be perfect all the way."

"Sakura." He tried to control his tone of voice so that it did not tremble with annoyance, or sadness, or frustration . . . he was not exactly sure which one. "I barely know this girl. I only met her a couple of days ago and I-- I don't know if I want this to happen at all. I'm confused and absolutely _terrified_ of my future with her. One thing I know for sure, I am not looking forward to my birthday right now."

She brushed it off casually. "Boys always get like that about getting married and planning weddings, but once you get there, you'll be fine."

"You don't understand - I don't lov--"

She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, head on his shoulder. "Don't. Don't say it. It'll only hurt you more if you do." There was a shiver in her voice. "Your father knew what would be best for you and his decision is final. So is yours. You have spoken of marriage to both her and your family - it will be done. And as for love--" Her body shook against his; he put his arms around her and held her close. "--you will spend the rest of your life with her; it is only a matter of time before you realize that she is your true love."

_This isn't right. This can't be right._

"Sakura--"

"I'll be happy knowing that you're happy."

He could not bring himself to tell her that he was _not_ happy, that he was suffering deep inside and his heart was bleeding thick and raw.

His face was pressed against her cheek. With his eyes closed he turned to her ear and whispered, "You'd rather have me go? Walk out from here right now and never come back?"

It took her several moments before she could answer. "A part of you will always be with me. That I know is true." She pulled away and returned to her side of the couch, her head bowed so deep that her chin touched the base of her neck. "We may never see each other again, but let's be happy for the times that we got to spend together at all. I'll always remember everything from the Clow cards phase to today." She wore a weary smile when she looked up. "All the best to you, Syaoran-kun."

The reality of it refused to sink in. He stared at her for a long time before he stood up, turned around, and walked towards the door.

When she rushed to follow him, he put a hand up to stop her. "No, please don't. If you give me one last hug I won't have the strength to go."

With his back to her, he put on his shoes and opened the door. He did not turn around and bow at her before he left - nor did he say goodbye.

- - -

_You stepped away, into the night,_

_the pain inside it cuts me like a knife._

_We'll meet again, 'cause it's meant to be,_

_each road you choose will lead you back to me._

He wrapped his arms around him, suddenly feeling cold though not from the breeze. A street lamp in the corner flickered and died, and the path he was walking on instantly turned very dark and fuzzy. He had visited the neighborhood so often in the past that he should be able to walk blindfolded, but instead he staggered and stumbled. There was a crack on the ground that he had missed and he nearly fell when it caught his foot. He could not see well. He stopped by a burnt-out street lamp and leaned against its post, fighting to normalize his irregular breathing. He felt dizzy, suffocated. He could not tell whether the grayish lump by his shoe was a pebble or an insect.

((Why bother flying to Japan at all if this is the ending I get?))

_You came here to end it with her; that was your original intention._

((Shut up. I can't deal with you right now. Go away.))

_You should be glad your conscience is still working. Where would you be by now if I were asleep?_

((Why couldn't she be more selfish and ask me to stay . . .?))

Syaoran covered his face with both hands, willing the sobs to go away.

_She is the most selfless person that you know. This is why you love her. You must have expected her to do something like this._

((Whatever it is inside of me, it hurts. I can't stand this - it's murderous.))

_Your first heartbreak. Congratulations. You brought this upon yourself._

((Argh! I never asked for a heartless, bitchy conscience! I wish I wasn't born with you in me.))

_Meilin was right - you are an idiot._

((I am an idiot.))

You're an overly dramatic idiot. Shame on you.

((I love her so much. She doesn't understand the pain I'm going through and instead pushed me away and asked me to leave.))

Syaoran let himself slide down against the pole and fall to the ground. He felt very, very tired all of a sudden, and cold. He tightened his jacket around his shoulders and pulled his knees to his chest. He felt like a huge lump of rock that needed to be swept up and discarded into a dumpster. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the pole. He began to drift into darkness.

Vaguely he heard footsteps. They were coming closer.

"Oy!"

He recognized that voice - or did he? His head swirled and his breathing shortened; he knew he was fainting.

He felt strong arms reaching down to him, pulling him up to his feet. He tried to open his eyes but they would not budge.

"Oh my God." Strong arms shaking him, trying to wake him up. "Hey, open your eyes. C'mon, open up!" Panicked voice that did not sound very familiar anymore. "Syaoran? _Syaoran_?" He was swept up off his feet and swung over broad shoulders, his cheek pressed against a shirt-covered back. It felt warm and snuggly; he wanted to sleep.

"Keep your eyes open for me," Touya muttered, half-running back to Yuki's house. "Please, stay awake." He shook the younger boy's arms harshly. "_Stay awake_!"

Touya practically threw himself through Yuki's door, startling the bespectacled boy that had been folding his laundry, crouched over the low coffee table. He hurried into Yuki's bedroom and placed Syaoran on top of the mattress.

Yuki hurried behind him. "What happened?"

"I found him collapsed by the lamp post near my house." Touya flung open the small cabinet doors by Yuki's wardrobe and pulled out a few sheets of blankets. "He's running a very high fever. Do you think you could . . .?"

"My grandfather's medicine is right next door. I'll go get it."

Yuki came back with a small white towel, a wooden box of herbs, and liquid potions arranged on a tray. Quickly he opened a couple of tubes containing clear and blue liquid, and two rectangular containers filled with dry leaves. He scattered a few pieces of leaves on the towel and splashed a few drops of the blue potion over them. He folded the towel into three and placed it flat on Syaoran's forehead.

"I better check up on Sakura to make sure she's not in any worse condition than him," Touya stated, rising to his feet.

"She's fine," Yuki said, his expression grave. "It's him I'm worried about."

"His guardian is staying at a hotel in town. I'm going to go fetch him." Touya adjusted his jacket and headed for the door. "Can you stay with him until I get back?"

Yuki nodded. "I may need to switch selves so that I can try to heal him properly."

Touya smiled. "Thanks."

"This is love, Touya."

"I know," he replied with a sigh, and stepped out the door.

- - -

Sakura turned off the lights save for a table lamp by the door, so that her brother could see his way around when he returned, and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Her heart felt heavy as if filled with lead and inflamed with so much sorrow and hopelessness that her eyes watered. She pressed her eyelids tightly to prevent tears from falling.

He was gone. For good. She had heard his footsteps retreating from her house, down the stone steps at the gate, and eventually fading away into the dusk. She was still trying to digest the situation that seemed too surreal to be true, but every second it came back to her, her head swayed and she felt floaty. Had she not just been dreaming all of this? The image of Syaoran and her living a happy life together bashed against her skull like a spiky-ended whip - it hurt too much to think about.

Sakura crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed. She opened her palm and stared at the winged hope on which they had both wished for a life together. Tomoyo-chan had said that the winged hope would make any dream come true - apparently she was wrong. And so was Eriol to have said that she and Syaoran made the best couple ever. Her most loyal friends had been wrong, _she_ had been wrong. Syaoran and her would never end up together at all.

But to think that Syaoran was hurting, too . . . .

She had seen it in his eyes - so much pain and despair - yet she could not bring herself to be selfish and ask him to forget about the girl and stay with her. Her mind had cried out loud but her lips refused to speak. She had done what she thought was the best and encouraged him to go on with the marriage. She had _lied_ to him and advised him to leave, even though her heart pleaded for her to take her words back and her mind was berating her for the stupidity.

Sakura fell against her pillow and closed her eyes, the winged hope clasped in her palm. She would never see Syaoran again, would never be with him again. She had thought that love was the most beautiful thing in the world - she had not a clue that for some people it came in black.

Pressing the pillow hard against her face to drown out her sobs, she freed the lump in her throat and let her tears escape. It would be a couple of hours later when she felt a gentle hand on her back, caressing her in a soothing, motherly way, straightening her hair and telling her she would be okay. Slowly Sakura turned and peered through a thick mist of tears - a long-haired figure sitting on her bed accompanied by a fluttery little plushie hovering near her right ear.

"I love him so much," she whispered through her sobs, "even if he decides not to love me anymore."

Tomoyo reached out and gathered Sakura in her arms, letting her cry on her shoulder. She kept her arms tight around her best friend's fragile and shaking body, and slowly maneuvered her position so that she was lying next to Sakura on the bed. Kero pulled a blanket over them both and quietly retreated into his own bed inside the drawer, Sakura's sobs and sniffles lulling him to sleep.

_No matter where I go, no matter what I do,_

_deep down in my heart I'll still be close to you._

_'Cause when the night is long, still I'll keep holding on,_

_knowing that you're thinking of me too --_

_I'll never forget you._

* * *

((ch. 9)) 

**Lyrics:** "The Hardest Thing" by 98 Degrees, "I'll Never Forget You" by Tommy Page.

**Note:** My husband and I had such a wonderful time during the much needed and very well deserved vacation! Thanks, everyone, who had wished me a lovely time! I feel rejuvenated and am ready to spring back into action now.

The next chapter will be longer. Please bear with me a little bit more with the angst (hehe). There are two or three more chapters to go before the engagement party takes place. Like I said before, the engagement truly _will_ happen, let's just cross our fingers and hope that Tomoyo and Meilin have the chance to implement their plan! The ending will follow right after that. As a matter of fact, the story ends _during_ the party. Once again, thanks for your lovely reviews and words of encouragement! They really mean a lot and make me want to keep writing the story.

My current beta-reader, the lovely and mucho awesome **AirStriker**, won't be able to proofread for a while due to technical issues, so the slot for a beta-reader is, once again, open to whoever is interested. Please email me if you're brave enough to take the challenge! --> The position has now been filled! Thank you very much, **FFxKHxLove** and **Armageddon Angel** for your (quick!) replies!

Hugs,

Lav


	10. Chapter 8

**Note:** I am sick. Again. But warm milk with honey and many cups of tea really _do_ help, so I should feel better soon. :) There are four or five more chapters left, so bear with me, people. In the next chapter we'll get to see how Sakura copes after the so-called breakup. The general mood of this story should pick up afterwards. There will be laughter, plenty of smilin', more action (yay), and happiness all around. Everyone who has read and reviewed so far - THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Your encouragement really means a _lot_ to me, and for that I love you. **FFxKHxLove**, **Armageddon Angel**, and **KB** - I love you!

* * *

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Eight**

_It was midday. He was sitting on a wooden chair out on the patio, where he and Meilin normally had their afternoon lessons. His exercise book and the thick math textbook were laid open in front of him on top of a wooden table which he shared with Meilin to do their homework. Meilin's work, chapters three and four completed, was visible from across the table. Her notebook sat next to her neatly arranged stationery: red-and-gold striped pencils, matching erasers, and a pencil sharpener, all properly organized in a tin pencil box. It was dressed in the same color scheme and decorated with little icons of hearts and stars. A big red "100" was scribbled on top of her page, the same mark that Syaoran had received for his own work. He put his pencil down and turned the page on his textbook. Chapter five finished, now on to chapter six._

_Cheerful laughter and happy shrieks emanated from the playground about thirty feet out. Syaoran looked up and saw Meilin twirling around jovially, surrounded by her friends, who were all cheering for her, clapping their hands and uttering words of congratulations and encouragement. Looked like she had just won another round of whatever game it was the girls were playing. All of them had lessons together, seven kids in total; everyone was some kind of cousin of the Li family. There were boys in their group, too -- some were playing ball and some climbing trees. Syaoran never joined them; he liked to spend recess reading a book or continuing the exercises in his Math textbook. He was far ahead in his class, earning a solid 100 on every exercise, not only in math but also in history, literature, geography, and physical education._

_Syaoran's attention was suddenly drawn to a particular girl in Meilin's group whom he had never really noticed before. Her short brown hair was in pigtails, fastened by a pair of red cherry-shaped hair ties. She was giggling happily along with the other girls and Syaoran noticed that when she laughed, her bright green eyes lit up and her face was illuminated in such a way that made her glow. Why had he never noticed her before? She couldn't have always been in their study group because it was reserved exclusively for the Li clan, and Syaoran recognized all of the kids in the Li extended family -- she was not part of them. Where did she come from?_

_Syaoran stood up. He had to approach the girl and ask her name. What was she doing there at the Li mansion where she did not belong?_

_Syaoran jumped over the railing and trotted towards Wei, intending to ask him what was going on. From the corner of his eye he caught the strange girl turning around and walking away from the group of girls towards the exit gate. Syaoran swerved the opposite way and followed her._

_"Wait!" he heard himself shout, though his voice sounded very distant and unrecognizable. "Sakura, don't leave me!"_

_Her name was Sakura? How did he know that?_

_"SAKURA!" He was screaming at the top of his lungs yet his voice sounded too soft, too faint for her to hear. Syaoran ran faster and screamed her name once more. Soon enough he was breathless and panting from running. "Sakura, please, don't leave!"_

_He reached the gate and pushed against the heavy double doors._

_- - -_

_It was one day before he had to leave for Japan. His bags were packed and lined up by the door in his bedroom. Outside, the sun was shining brightly and birds were singing beautifully. Down below, Wei was feeding Koi fish in the pond. The garden had fully bloomed, colorful flowers swayed back and forth in the gentle afternoon breeze. Next door in her bedroom, Meilin was fussing about him not having enough winter coats to take along and his sister Feimei was trying to talk her into doing some last minute shopping. The girls' voices carried out through the open window into his bedroom._

_Syaoran leapt onto the nearest tree branch and perched on it, looking out to a blue river behind the mansion. There was a girl crouching next to it, a girl with brown pigtails that Syaoran had never seen before but was very much eager to meet. She dipped a hand into the river and splashed her face with cold water. She giggled - he could hear it from where he sat on the tree branch - and splashed water on her face once again. She threw her head back, and laughed again cheerfully. He could see that she had green eyes and knew she had a lovely voice. He also knew that she was called Sakura and that she liked teddy bears and sweet desserts. Syaoran watched her with a smile, leaning back against the tree bark. He could only do this from afar right now, but soon enough he would be able to stand face to face in front of her._

_"Just one more day, Sakura," he whispered. "Just one more day."_

_- - -_

_Tomoeda Elementary was drenched in the whitish yellow hue of early morning sunshine. It was the beginning of fifth grade, the first day of April and the start of the cherry blossom season. Syaoran walked up the steps leading to the main entrance of the school and turned to the left towards the soccer field in the school backyard. The backyard must be really pretty at this time of day, he thought, quickening his pace, with rays of sunlight shooting through the leaves and creating elongated golden patches on the ground. He checked his wristwatch and saw that it was just a little after six thirty. No wonder he seemed to be the only person that had arrived in school. Quite interestingly, the high school next door sounded busy with boys playing basketball and girls laughing. Syaoran was not looking forward to spending his high school years in Japan, where students seemed to be tortured with demanding school activities, tests, and mounting homework on a daily basis. He would have to be up by four in the morning and go to school at five to catch up with homework as well as study for a test. No, he would definitely go back to Hong Kong and spend the rest of his school years there._

_The school backyard was covered in pale pink petals. Syaoran approached the closest tree and leaned against its trunk. This was his favorite time of day, but today in particular it was exceptionally special. He had felt it since he woke up that morning._

_He heard rustling sounds coming from a tree behind him. Turning around slowly, he peered from behind the tree and saw a girl with short brown hair worn in pigtails, standing under a tree, its thick branches and lush green leaves curved above her head like an umbrella. She had on a pair of red cherry-shaped hair ties on each pigtail and she was wearing a Tomoeda Elementary uniform. Her eyes were green like a pair of jades. She put her hands out on her sides and cherry blossom petals rained on her, covering the top of her head and piling up on her shoulders. She was laughing, twirling around and around. It was the most beautiful scene to watch. Syaoran folded his arms across his chest and leaned sideways against the tree bark, the corner of his lips curling up into a smile. His eyes were glued to the girl; his heart was pumping._

_He was sad when the petals stopped flowing from the tree and she stopped twirling. Syaoran stepped out and approached the girl. In one abrupt turn she shook the petals off from her shoulders and hair. Her eyes met his._

_"Syaoran-kun," she said._

_The ray of morning light fell diagonally through the layers of leaves above her, creating heart-shaped shadows on the ground around her. Two cherry blossom petals floated down from a low branch, falling past her face and rested side by side on her shoe. Syaoran had never seen a sight so gorgeous, so breathtaking that he wanted to get lost in it forever._

_"Sakura," he whispered, and she nodded._

_This was the girl that he loved._

_- - -_

Syaoran woke up with a fever. He opened his eyes a crack and the room immediately swam into focus before him. There was a sturdy wooden desk in the far corner cluttered with books, standing by an oval-shaped window which crimson red curtains were drawn to prevent too much sunlight from coming in. A dark-wood wardrobe was in the other corner, with some antique swords arranged on the wall next to it and an oil painting of himself in his ceremonial robes hung over a coffee table. Looking up, he saw a lacy canopy stretched from one post to another around the bed in which he slept. He was covered with at least two layers of blankets and a duvet, all of which were warm and smooth to the touch. Soft feather pillows were scattered around him: by his arm, near his feet, next to his head; they felt velvety and cool. He was in his bedroom.

Syaoran propped his elbows on the bed and pulled himself up into a sitting position. Attempting to get rid of the lightheadedness that had suddenly overcome him, he blinked a few times and shook his head, which in return created a wave of nausea in the pit of his stomach. He let out a groan of pain and leaned back against the headboard. His nose caught a savory scent, drifting from the nightstand on his left side, mixed with a tangy aroma of herbal tea, the kind that his mother brewed when someone was ill. He noticed a tray of food on the nightstand: a steaming bowl of herbal chicken soup, a mug of tea, a couple of vials containing potions, and a bar of chocolate.

He could not remember anything that had taken place after he'd left Sakura's house; he did not even remember walking to Tsukishiro's house. Glancing at the clock next to the food tray, he discovered that it had been a day since he had said goodbye to Sakura. He must have passed out through the entire flight back to Hong Kong, too. And for someone who wasn't into flying, he found this quite relieving.

Syaoran kicked the layers of blankets aside and got off the bed. He was dressed in silk green pajamas, comfortable and loose but warm and snuggly at the same time. He went to the window, pulled the curtains open, and perched on the ledge. The late afternoon breeze felt cool against his flushed face.

What he could remember clearly was every word that he had uttered in Sakura's living room, telling her he was betrothed against his will to a girl he barely knew and he was getting engaged in about a week's time. He remembered Sakura's surprisingly calm demeanor and her final words of goodbye, which were still ringing in his ears. She had congratulated him and wished him luck. She did not hold him back or cry her lungs out begging for him to stay; she had simply smiled and said she was happy for him. And he had been angered by her reaction and allowed frustration to permeate through his system. He remembered feeling lost, confused, and scared at the thought of losing her. His confidence vanished and he wanted to disappear within the bowels of the earth, curled up in a cocoon for a thousand years.

He and Sakura were no longer together - there was no denying it. He was getting engaged in a few days - this was also a fact.

He had to pull himself together and get ready for the engagement gala - inevitable.

He had to try and forget Sakura and the fact that he was, indeed, still in love with her so that he could focus on his future wife - absolutely impossible.

Deep in his thoughts, Syaoran did not notice when Meilin stepped in, carrying a tall glass of milk in one hand. She stepped inside the door, and cleared her throat to make her presence known. Syaoran was startled, but smiled when he recognized her.

"If your mother sees you out of bed she'll have a fit," she said casually, kicking the door closed behind her. "How're you feeling?"

"Bad," he answered honestly. "Everything's blurry and yellow."

"Definitely a horrible fever," Meilin nodded in acknowledgment, placing the milk by Syaoran's feet on the window ledge, and pressed her palm against his forehead.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Auntie and Wei said that you had some kind of a breakdown. Kinomoto's brother found you on the road not too far from Tsukishiro's house and took you in, and then he went and fetched Wei at the hotel. Wei got you on the last flight out of Tokyo and here you are now."

"I passed out for a full day?"

"You woke up for a bit at Tsukishiro's house, he gave you medicine and then you went back to sleep. You woke up again on the plane, asking for water, and Wei made you take some more medicine that kept you asleep until last night. You had a high fever and you were having nightmares, mumbling incoherent stuff and kicking your blankets as if you were fighting a monster. Your mother and I took turns watching you and we had to shake you awake several times to calm you down."

"Sounds like a winner." Syaoran grinned.

"We were extremely worried about you. You should have seen Fang Yin - she acted as if you were dying or something. She insisted on sleeping in a cot here, but her father slapped some sense into her head and dragged her home. Thank goodness for that. I have never seen a girl cry and whine like that before, and yes, this is _me_ talking. Anyway, it's nice seeing you up and about again, but you need to go back to bed."

"Resting is boring," Syaoran protested.

"Well, you have no choice. You have to get as much rest as possible so that you can get ready for the-- for your birthday. This place has been a madhouse since you left what with everyone decorating and polishing this and that, not to mention the constant arguments about dresses and makeup artists. Oh, the Xiu clan has apparently been cooking nonstop for the party as well. Speaking of which," Meilin threw a reluctant glance at the food tray on Syaoran's nightstand and snickered, "she made that chicken broth for you. It smells funny but probably tastes good because _supposedly_ she's a real good cook."

"She is."

Meilin harrumphed. "Your mother brewed herbal tea this morning - you should drink it now for strength. And this," she held up the glass of milk in front of him, "is my little treat for you, along with that bar of chocolate on the tray."

"A glass of milk?"

"Warm milk with honey, actually." A faint triumphant smirk was playing on the corners of her lips when she said that.

"Oh." He blushed as he reached for the glass. "Right."

"A Japanese friend of mine once told me that this is quite an efficient fever-reducer, so I decided to get a recipe, just in case. You know how often I catch a cold."

Syaoran took a sip of the milk, swallowed, and then went on to drain the glass. Meilin took the empty glass from his hand and, with a happy grin, whirled around and headed towards the door.

"Right, then," she uttered, "I have lots of things to do - shutting your sisters up so that they'll stop bickering about dresses, for instance, which I have found quite amusing to do lately. Who are they trying to impress, anyway? It's not like the Xiu boys are cute. Go back to bed and I'll see y--"

"Meilin." He grabbed her wrist and tugged on it gently. "Can you spare a moment to talk with me?"

She nodded, placed the empty milk glass on the desk, and took a seat on the window ledge across from him.

"I dreamed about Sakura." His voice was almost a whisper. "We were children, and I tried to reach her and couldn't until she stood under a cherry blossom tree at Tomoeda, as if she was waiting for me."

Meilin chewed on her bottom lip, her forehead creased as she twirled the tip of her hair around her forefinger really fast - a sign that she was thinking hard. She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, but she shoved it back in right away and started twirling her hair again.

"You're going to tell me I'm an idiot," Syaoran said, his tone weary.

The creases on her forehead gradually disappearing as her eyes met Syaoran's. "You're not an idiot, but clearly you're madly in love with her."

"What do you make of the dreams?"

_Daidouji and I are both on the right path_ was her thoughts of the dreams. But obviously she couldn't say that to him.

"Well," she said, picking her words carefully, "I'm not good at interpreting dreams, really, but taking a wild guess here, I'll say that maybe they were sending you a message that she's the one you were born to be with?" She glanced sideways and noticed a change in Syaoran's features. This encouraged her to go on. "It's interesting that the dreams took you to the past as if . . . as if they were telling you to turn back time and undo certain things."

He turned to her, eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, my dreams definitely mirror my feelings. If only I had the power to turn back time, I could probably try to talk my father into annulling the betrothal."

"You considered that?"

"Of course I did. I've thought up every possible way to cancel this engagement, including returning to the past and forcing my father to rewrite his will."

Meilin's serious expression instantly broke into a wide grin. _I have to give Daidouji full credit for having confidence in him._

"Then why don't you?" she challenged.

Syaoran turned towards the Koi pond again and sighed, misery flitted across his features. "I would've done so if I could, Meilin."

"If there's a will, there's a way." Meilin leaned forward and whispered, "I have an idea."

It took him several minutes to finally look at her, his eyes luminous.

* * *

((ch. 9))

**Note:** My betas will notice that the final words in this chapter have been changed. I got too carried away with it in the beginning that I pretty much laid out how the story ends. I could have just ended the story here and it probably would have been alright. So, even though not drastically, the ending has been modified. (Besides, it sounded too boring the other way.)


	11. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** To all of you who wondered why Sakura didn't burst out crying or start throwing plates angrily at Syaoran during the breakup, the answer lies in this chapter. Thanks for reading the story. Feedback, comments, and con crits are very much welcome, so please kindly leave a review at the end. :)

* * *

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Nine**

Sakura turned to the other side of the bed, one arm reaching up for her alarm clock, the other holding a teal-colored, fluffy teddy bear. She brought the clock close to her face and peered out through dark brown lashes -- six thirty on a Sunday morning, a little too early to be up and about. But she could not wait to get off the bed and out of the house. Last night she had planned to spend today with Syaoran -- maybe go for a walk in the park, and then share a bowl of banana split at the restaurant where Touya worked, and then catch a movie in the afternoon. But she had a free day ahead of her now, after everything that had happened. _Might as well call the girls and go out for ice cream_, she thought, a spark of joy lighting up her heart,_ or maybe we can swim in that indoor pool that Tomoyo loves so much_. She was up for anything that would get her mind off of Syaoran.

Sakura sat up and rose from the bed. Her eyes automatically swiveled to the drawer where Kero slept; it was open, although not a shred of yellow fur was visible inside. Kero made it a habit to close the drawer properly whenever he left Sakura's room, and Sakura remembered him doing so before he'd taken off to Tomoyo's house just the night before. The open drawer could only mean that he was home. Sakura decided that Kero might be in the kitchen, possibly raiding the refrigerator. She slipped into her bedroom sandals and headed for the door.

She was halfway towards the door when it suddenly swung open, and, as if on cue, Kero fluttered in. He was holding a large, round blueberry pancake in one hand.

"Hi," he greeted buoyantly and tore off the pancake down the middle. He threw half of the piece into his mouth.

"_Ohayo_ . . ." Sakura answered, her eyes trailing after Kero as he flew to the desk and perched on top of it. "You're eating already at this time of day."

Kero retorted nonchalantly, "I need nourishment to stay strong so that I can protect you."

The gentle sound of a girly giggle pulled Sakura's attention to the door. Tomoyo was standing in the threshold, balancing a tray of breakfast in her hands.

"_Ohayo_, Sakura-chan!" came her cheerful voice, still half giggling at Kero's antics.

"_Ohayo_, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura replied, quickly taking the tray from her best friend's hands.

"I made you breakfast -- rice porridge with eggs."

"Ooh, I love it. But you really shouldn't have done this. You are, after all, my guest."

Tomoyo gave her a nonchalant wave and followed Sakura to the bed. "I was up really early and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to make breakfast for all of us."

Sakura placed the breakfast tray in front of her on the bed. She stared at the dish for a moment, then looked up and smiled at Tomoyo. "Thank you, both for breakfast and for staying last night. I'm sorry that I couldn't be more welcoming."

Tomoyo reached forward to hold Sakura's hand. "You'll feel better in no time. You know, it's such a lovely day today," she said, looking out the window. "I thought maybe we could go swimming or have ice cream?"

Grinning, Sakura nodded, and then took the first spoonful of porridge. "Wow, this is _really_ good."

"I'm glad you like it!"

Sakura ate silently, throwing a warning glance at Kero every once in a while whenever he belched. Tomoyo volunteered to clean up once Sakura finished eating, and made a comment on how adorable she and Kero truly were whether or not they wanted to admit it.

When she returned from the kitchen, Sakura gestured for her to sit on the bed.

"Syaoran-kun came to tell me he's getting engaged to a girl chosen by his family," Sakura said in a tiny voice. "I gave him my blessings, and we said our goodbyes."

"_Whaaaaaat_!" Kero shrieked, and dropped his second serving of blueberry pancake to the floor in reflex. Ignoring the mess, he fluttered over to Sakura's bed, his face turning maroon and his eyes flashed with anger, the way they did whenever he received a letter from Suppie saying that he had won yet another round in the game. "Where is he now!" he demanded furiously. "Let me give him a piece of my mind!" He somersaulted in the air and punched around aimlessly. "LET ME SHOW HIM HOW WE HANDLE THINGS AROUND HERE!"

Suddenly his wings wrapped around him like a cocoon and in a matter of seconds he transformed into a great, winged tiger.

"_Hoeeeeee_!" Sakura shrieked, jumping backwards so abruptly that her back hit the wall.

"Raaaaaaaar!" Kero growled.

"_Kero-chan_!" Sakura scolded, and smacked Kero on the top of his head with her fist. "How many times have I asked you not to do that so suddenly! And _never_ growl in my ear like that again -- it hurts!" Pouting, she rubbed her hand against her left ear. "Ow . . . "

Kero immediately switched back into his 'plushie' form and sat on the edge of Sakura's bed, muttering how he wished he had enough powers to hex "the kid" into a toad. "Ay, Sakura. I could've killed him if I were you," he said. "I can't believe how _calm_ you are."

Sakura took a deep breath and drew her legs to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and rested her chin on her knees. "I _was_ angry at first, but . . . something happened before then. Something really strange. And when I finally realized what it was, my anger just . . . dissipated." Her gaze met Kero's. "I'd sensed such a strong and foul emotion that was foreign to me. It suffocated me; I couldn't breathe. My heart seemed to swell rapidly, and it was throbbing extremely fast like it was about to explode. Next thing I knew, we were covered in bright lights, and golden arrows shot at us out of thin air. Then a new card was born; it's called The Despair."

Sakura reached under her pillow for the card. She handed it over to Kero.

"Yes, I was furious when he told me about the engagement," she continued. "I wanted to yell at him, call him names . . . I fought back the tears that were threatening to spill. I was thinking, he had made me believe that we had something beautiful to nurture -- how could he turn his back around so easily and dump me like an old pair of pants, making me feel worthless? I was beside myself with shock." Sakura's arms tightened around her body. "But just as I was about to give in to fury, realization suddenly hit me: the ugly sensation I had felt before had been _his_. I had felt _his_ despair, literally, and I knew in that instance that he was suffering much worse than I was. Despite my own sorrow, I consoled him."

Tomoyo's fingers reached up to brush away a tear that had fallen unnoticed onto Sakura's cheek.

"He was confused by my reaction. But if I showed him a tint of anger, or asked him to stay with me, I would have put him in a very difficult position. It would have been the same as telling him to defy his family's wishes."

Sakura felt a comforting hand running up and down her back.

"I wanted to put his mind at ease by giving him my blessing; if he knew I was letting him go willingly, he would feel less burdened." Kero made a funny choking snort. Sakura brushed off another tear from her cheek. "But the look on his face . . . he was disappointed and even more hurt than before. I could _feel_ his pain in my heart. I could feel everything that he was feeling. Whenever he took a breath, I felt it rush through me. Every beat of his heart thudded against my chest, his grief washed over me like a sudden rain in a sunny afternoon. His anguish was bearing me down -- and I knew he wanted me to ask him to stay, but I couldn't bring myself to stop him from leaving. I let him slip out the door without a word."

Sakura grabbed the teal-colored teddy bear Syaoran had given her and held it tight against her chest. "Maybe I shouldn't have done so."

"Have you always been able to sense his emotions?" Kero asked.

Sakura shook her head. "Last night was the first."

"It seems that your magical powers merged during the birth of The Despair," he said. "That's how you became able to feel his emotions. It is a rare occasion, but when two great wizards let their guard down and allow intense, raw emotion to burst through their aura, their powers can dissolve within each other's. If my theory is correct, at the moment both you and the kid share the same amount of magical powers, and if you concentrate hard enough, you can even read each other's thoughts."

"Wow . . ." Tomoyo breathed out.

"You were both in distress," Kero continued. "The merge was completely accidental. Now I understand why Clow could be so cold back in the days, almost emotionless sometimes. I guess he was afraid that if he let his guard down unintentionally, his powers could've been detected -- or worse, stolen."

Sakura sat up straight. "Does this mean that Syaoran-kun _created_ The Despair?"

"He doesn't have the ability to do so," Kero shook his head. "But _you_ do. His feelings and emotions were absorbed by you, so, technically, _you_ created the card. But I think the card is _his_. Did you have any kind of physical contact before then?"

Sakura thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, we were holding hands. _Oh!_" she gasped. "I completely forgot. I had the winged hope in my hand the whole time and he held it against my palm!"

"The winged hope . . . ?"

"It's a pin that Rika-chan made it for me."

Remembering that she had taken it to bed the night before, Sakura searched for the winged hope on her nightstand, under her pillow, and within the folds of her blanket. To her surprise, she found it clasped around the teddy bear's right hand. Sakura took it off the bear and handed it to Kero.

"I read about the winged hope in one of my mother's old folktale books," Tomoyo spoke. "It says that when someone is in possession of a heart-shaped item that has wings attached to it, much like this pin, then everything he or she wishes for will come true."

"Hmm, sounds like a myth to me," Kero commented, albeit far from mocking. The winged hope, which was twice the size of his hands, caught light and sparkled.

"Syaoran and I made the same wish on it last night, just before our hands touched."

"I wonder what it's made of? It looks like gold."

"Rika bought the material at Tsukimine Shrine," Tomoyo answered. "A few days ago the shrine hosted a one-day event where all leftovers from the Nadeshiko festival were on sale, and Rika was the only one from our class that had the chance to go. Although she found all kinds of lovely things there, what caught her interest the most were these piles of colorful beads and chunks of metal in peculiar shapes. Rika-chan got inspired to make a pin for Terada-sensei when she saw an onyx piece that resembled a chess pawn, sensei's most favorite thing in the world. Intending to create a whole chess set, she went on browsing through the piles, and found even more funny shapes that reminded her of her friends. She saw a tiny silver book which she bought for Naoko, a cherry blossom petal for me, a rose-quartz ribbon for Chiharu, and the winged hope for Sakura. She just thought it would look nice on her."

Kero went to perch on the window ledge, one leg crossed over the other, hand holding his chin. "Whatever type of metal it is," he said slowly, observing the winged hope, "it definitely carries strong magical elements. Tsukimine Shrine is a very sacred place -- many items that are crafted, sold, or simply found in there supposedly contain magic. I understand now. This pin, or rather the magic within it, has triggered the transfer of powers between the kid and Sakura."

Tomoyo gasped in amazement. "Ahhhh, that's so cooooool!"

"What does The Despair do?" Sakura asked. "Is it an offensive card?"

"I can only assume what it may do. When Clow created his cards, he always knew what they would be used for before he made them. Sometimes he created them out of fun, like The Bubble or The Sweet. Often he made cards that would aid him in duels; for example, The Twin and The Power. Most of the time he created cards to protect him, and these are the cards that you, Sakura, have been familiar with since the early days of card capturing. Among the fifty-three that exist, fifty-two cards contain positive forces, and one was created to neutralize their powers. But even so, all of these cards are powerful and can be quite dangerous if the master intends to make them dangerous. I assume the same goes for The Despair. I will need to countercheck my theory with Yue before I can answer your question, but for now I am going to say that when The Despair is released, it seems to envelop a person with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, just like what it did to you last night. It may block a person's ability to function and will eventually immobilize them completely."

"_Hoe_ . . . It sounds offensive to me."

"But a nice one to use on your enemy," Tomoyo said.

"Remember that you are different from Clow Reed, Sakura," Kero added. "Clow created offensive cards because he wanted them to be dangerous, but considering that neither you or the kid had any foul intention when you created the card, there is a chance that The Despair may contain positive energy."

Tomoyo raised her hand. Kero turned to her and gestured for her to speak. "I think the winged hope somehow knew what Li-kun and Sakura-chan are going through right now; it wanted for them to stay together and that's why it helped create The Despair -- to let Sakura see how miserable Li has been."

"And why would it do that?" Kero inquired, looking thoroughly perplexed.

"I don't know," Tomoyo replied with a shrug, but her innocent yet mischievous expression clearly spoke otherwise. "Maybe it wanted Sakura to realize that Li loves her unconditionally, and that in reality he has chosen her over this other girl."

Two blank expressions stared at Tomoyo. She grinned.

"That's a very . . . _interesting_ analysis . . . if I may say so myself," Kero said after a few moments of silence. "Completely irrelevant to my theory, too. Anyway," he turned to Sakura, "I suggest you--"

"Do you really think that?" Sakura cut him off, her eyes on Tomoyo.

Her best friend nodded three times. "I'm sure of it."

"But he came over to break it off with me."

"He came to _confide in you_ about being forced to marry a girl who's a complete stranger to him. He made the effort to fly over to Japan so that he could talk to you in person. That shows a great amount of loyalty and respect."

Sakura stared at Tomoyo for a long moment. Then she rose from her bed and stepped up to the window, a grim expression flitted across her face. "I didn't see it that way last night," she said in a small voice. "He must have thought I was pushing him away."

On the window ledge, Kero jumped up to his feet, hands propped on his hips. "_Hellooo_? We're discussing a possibly dangerous card here. I know I said it might contain positive forces, but it is_ still_ considered dangerous until I speak to Yue about it."

He received no response from either girl.

"If I know Li the way I think I do, he wouldn't think that you pushed him away," Tomoyo said, hiding two crossed fingers behind her back. _And if he did, Meilin had better knock some sense into his skull._ "He should understand how overwhelming this whole ordeal is for you, and he knows you need time to think things over."

"But I already said my goodbye!" Sakura exclaimed, frustration and dismay clear in her tone. "Why can't I see things like you do? Why didn't I understand all of this last night?" She began to sob. "If only I knew . . . If only _he_ knew . . . "

"Oy, Sakura . . ." Kero breathed, taken aback by Sakura's sudden outburst. "You've shed enough tears already, let's have a change of subject and talk about this card--"

"It's not fair," Sakura went on. "Syaoran-kun decided to marry this girl because of the fierce loyalty he's nurtured towards his family -- but he doesn't _love_ her. He shouldn't have to do this at all."

"He's in love with you, Sakura-chan. Always has been."

Sakura's hands balled into fists on her side. "I need to help him," she stated, her voice thick with confidence, determination clouding over her features. She lifted her chin up and, staring out the window, nodded her head once. "I will do whatever it takes to get him out of this nightmare. No one should have to feel tormented like this in any circumstance, definitely not where it concerns such a sacred, beautiful thing like marriage."

"There's the Sakura I know!" Tomoyo said cheerfully. "She's back in action!"

"Although," Sakura hesitated, "I don't know how I can help."

"You're the cool Cardcaptor Sakura!" Tomoyo uttered. "You can do _anything_!"

"That is rather true," came Kero's mumbling yet supportive voice. "You managed to capture all of those Clow cards; you really _can_ do anything."

"The cards!" Sakura turned and walked over to her desk. She opened the top drawer where the cards lay in a neat pile. They instantly gleamed and floated out of the drawer. Hovering next to each other, they created a circle around Sakura. "Which one of you will be able to help me, I wonder?"

"That's not how it works!" Kero hopped off the ledge and flew over to Sakura. "You can't ask the cards what they can do for you. You have to figure out the solution yourself and _then_ choose a card or two to aid you."

"But I tried asking them before to help me find The Mirror, and they did."

"That was different -- you were trying to _capture a card_ then; they didn't mind giving you hints because in return you would bring back their friend. This is personal, Sakura. The cards are under your command, but you can't expect to get answers to life's questions from them."

"Can I still use them to help Syaoran-kun?"

"If the answer lies in the cards, sure. But I have a feeling it'll take more than that."

Tomoyo, wide-eyed and grinning, stood up and exclaimed, "Ohhh, we can ask Li-kun!"

Heads swiveled towards her.

"He helped Sakura a lot back then by dropping hints or plainly telling her what to do to capture a card. He's also the descendant of Clow Reed, which means he understands the cards well. He must know what to do!"

"I have to say, you kind of make sense," Kero concurred a moment later. "I suppose we can give him a call--"

"How about Yue-san?" Sakura offered. "He must be able to help, too."

_And even though he's scary sometimes, he didn't just break up with me last night. I'd rather chance talking to him than calling Syaoran-kun in Hong Kong!_

"No, no, no, this is a serious matter. We have to _see_ him in person."

_Or worse, going to Hong Kong to SEE him!_

"I doubt Yue knows more than I do when it comes to something like this, really," Kero said. Sakura felt like locking him outside the window overnight. "I say we go with Tomoyo's idea."

"No, let's not do that." She shivered at the idea of meeting Syaoran again. "Besides, he probably doesn't want to see me, anyway."

"Of _course_ he does," Tomoyo insisted. "He needs your help and he needs it _soon_, before the engagement takes place." Her eyes shimmered. "We're going to Hong Kong!"

* * *

((ch. 10)) 

**Note:** I will have cousins visiting from Australia for five days next week, so I will be taking (yet another) break starting Sunday, July 2. She has been my best friend and confidante for over a decade -- this is the first time I am going to see her again since 1994 and I am giddy with excitement!

I'll try and write as much as I can in the next few days, and, hopefully, post another chapter before Sunday. (Thank you **FFxKHxLove** for your uber-quick beta on this chapter - you're terrific!) Please cross your fingers and hope with me that I can finish Winged Hope before the summer ends. My husband will see smoke coming out of the laptop in the next couple of weeks because I'll be writing a marathon, and my betas will most likely be annoyed with me for bombarding them with emails. But I need to get this done. In all honesty, this little novelette was not intended to be _this_ long. Originally I planned for ten chapters -- look where I am now, and I'm still about three or four chapters away from the ending. Also, my goal to finish before July 4 has successfully crashed and burned into ashes, so let's see where this takes me from here. Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! Love, Lav.


	12. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** First and foremost, please let me apologize deeply for the extremely long delay in (finishing writing and) posting this. Many things have occurred in the past couple of months, all of which have affected my life in quite the big way. During my cousins' visit, we received news that our grandfather passed away, which prompted me to fly to Canada for the funeral. Then things relating to real life work - changes mostly, all for the better, though - took place right after that. My emotions were challenged, and I felt as if I were riding on a roller coaster of mood swings.

However, I am back for real now. The entire time I was on break from writing my fingers itched to type up new paragraphs into the story, and my psyche was sorely missing Syaoran, Sakura, and Meilin way, way too much. There were moments when I sat in my cubicle at work during slow hours and my mind eagerly traveled over to this very chapter, to Hong Kong, to the part where Syaoran introduces Sakura to Fang Yin, to the dinner scene, and my fingers began to twitch. I just knew I had to get it all written out - or I would go mad, literally. So, here it is, the long overdue Chapter Ten. It is by far the longest chapter ever written for the story (over 5,000 words!). I hope you all have not given up on me; but if you did, I hope you'd come back and continue reading. :) More importantly, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Many thanks to my betas - I am ever so grateful for your patience, kindness, and awesome beta-reading skills.

Last but not least, feedback and comments are, as always, greatly appreciated. :)

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**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Ten**

Meilin pushed a button on the security alarm system by the kitchen door, and watched as the iron-gate slid open on the surveillance TV. A black limousine rolled into the driveway slowly. Sitting behind the steering wheel, Wei turned towards the camera and grinned at her. Meilin gave a little wave even though she knew Wei could not see her. Feeling the rush of excitement coursing through her system, she dashed out of the kitchen and darted towards the front door.

She couldn't believe it was finally happening. She was so giddy with happiness that her heart felt like exploding.

"I didn't realize we were receiving guests so early, Auntie Li."

Meilin skidded to a stop when she heard the small, wispy voice. She backed up a little to hide behind the tapestry that separated the living room from the entrance hall, and peered through the velvety sinews to see her aunt and Fang Yin standing in the doorway, watching the black limousine with great interest.

"As far as I know, nobody should be arriving until tomorrow morning," Yelan Li responded, and then added, in a more concerned tone, "I sure would have appreciated being forewarned about this visit. I haven't prepared tea."

"Well, this is certainly rude of them if you ask me," Fang Yin commented, her voice was as sweet as honey.

Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Meilin stepped away from the tapestry and strode forward, quickly approaching her aunt and Fang Yin. If her plan got ruined by Fang Yin's mere existence today, she would have a darn good reason to dig her claws into the girl's cream-colored skin and give her scars that would last a lifetime.

Fang Yin seemed to have the impression that the Li mansion had officially become her home. She came over every day for breakfast and would only leave well after dinner. She spent her entire day helping out in the kitchen, decorating for the party, embroidering some sort of a large handkerchief, and even tending to the Koi and the garden. Meilin believed that Fang Yin was just sucking up to the family; once she was married to Syaoran she probably would never step foot at the Li mansion anymore, let alone help out with house chores. Meilin was the only one who could see beyond Fang Yin's sweetness - hypocrisy and manipulation delicately concealed beneath eloquence and a pretty face. She'd hoped Syaoran could see it, too; but all he ever did was utter compliments about the girl's cooking and sewing abilities, and praise her on her looks.

Bleh.

Meilin never thought it was possible for anyone to possess such intense resentment towards another person, but that was all she felt whenever Fang Yin was around. Her mere voice was enough to bring Meilin's blood to a boil.

Stepping up to her aunt, Meilin spoke loud and clear, "I deeply apologize to have not informed you about my guests' arrival, Auntie. The arrangements were made quite last minute."

"Oh, so these are your guests, Meilin?" Fang Yin's eyes were wide and round. "Tsk. You could've told us earlier today."

Ignoring Fang Yin, Meilin continued, "Besides, they're not exactly strangers; they're my friends from Japan, who came to visit last year. You remember them, Auntie."

"Oh!" Yelan exclaimed, her expression brightened. "Yes, of course!"

Meilin could have sworn she saw the corner of her auntie's lips lift.

Wei had stepped out of the car and was now holding the door open for a brown-haired girl. She was wearing a pair of peach-colored shorts and a short-sleeved white blouse with a pink heart printed on the front. Her eyes lit up when she saw the mansion, and her mouth widened into a bright smile when they landed on Meilin.

"KINOMOTO-SAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Meilin screamed. She ran down the steps and, seemingly accidentally, pushed Fang Yin aside so hard that the girl staggered. She would have toppled backwards if Yelan failed to catch her by the elbow.

Meilin bounced her way to the limousine and gave Sakura a big, tight hug.

"You're here!" she shrieked, bouncing on the spot with Sakura in her embrace.

"_Hoeee_!"

"I'm soooooo happy!"

"Meilin-chan, I think you're cutting my blood circulation," Sakura managed to say, giggling a little. Meilin let go of her instantly.

Sakura exhaled loudly, one hand clutching her abdomen as she breathed. "Ehehe -- it's nice to see you again, Meilin-chan."

"You look pale and skinny, Kinomoto-san." Meilin observed her friend with a pout, wagging her forefinger warningly. "Have you not been eating properly?"

"Um, lately I've kind of been on a diet," Sakura answered, blushing. "My brother mentioned that I looked kind of chubby, so I thought I'd start eating less sweets. But it didn't go for long; I had a bar of chocolate on the plane."

"Well, we're going to feed you so good here you're going to go home all squishy and pudgy!"

"_Hoe_ . . . but I don't think . . . _ano_ . . . eh . . . Okay," she agreed, grimacing sheepishly. "I like Chinese food."

Meilin gave her another squeeze, and then turned to Tomoyo. "Daidouji-san. Nice to speak to you in person finally."

"You look radiant as usual, Meilin-chan." Tomoyo stepped forward and hugged Meilin. "You look beautiful."

"How did it go?" Meilin whispered as they hugged. "Breezy, I hope?"

"It took me three hours to convince her that she should come," Tomoyo whispered back. "Thank goodness her brother and Tsukishiro-san helped."

"They knew about the plan?"

"I don't think so, but they received an invitation to the engagement. From the groom himself."

They let go of each other. Meilin was flabbergasted; her dark brown eyes were full of questions. But Tomoyo just shrugged in response and pointed at the two young men standing side by side behind her. The dark-haired one gave a small nod of acknowledgment, the shorter guy was grinning from ear to ear. Meilin had been so wrapped up in her own excitement of seeing Sakura and Tomoyo that she had completely missed their presence. She walked around Tomoyo to greet Touya and Yukito properly.

"Welcome to the Li mansion, everyone," came Yelan's soft voice. Sakura, Tomoyo, Touya and Yukito bowed and greeted Yelan formally. And then she continued in fluent Japanese, "Meilin, would you be so kind as to introduce your friends to Fang Yin, and vice versa?"

Meilin was about to start when a familiar voice interrupted. "I'll do the honor," Syaoran offered, speaking in Japanese. "After all, it was I who invited them." He stepped out from behind a tree and bowed at everyone, muttering words of welcome.

"_Where_ have you been all day?" Fang Yin hissed demandingly, loud enough for everybody to hear. It was obvious that she was annoyed for not understanding a word everyone else was saying. They were in Hong Kong, her hometown, shouldn't the guests be speaking Chinese instead of the hosts speaking Japanese?

"I was up on a tree," Syaoran answered coolly. He walked up to her and gestured at his friends. "Fang Yin, I'd like you to meet my friends from Japan. Tsukishiro Yukito, who excels in archery and appreciates good food."

With a sincere wide smile plastered on his face, Yukito waved at Fang Yin. "Hi!" he said, and received a wave back from the girl.

"Daidouji Tomoyo, whose voice beats that of a nightingale's."

"Oh, I'm not that good, really," Tomoyo said in Chinese. When Syaoran and Meilin stared at her in surprise, she blushed. "Um, my mother travels around the world a lot; she teaches me many foreign languages. Very nice to meet you, Fang Yin-chan."

"You, too," Fang Yin replied.

Syaoran continued with the introduction. "The tall one right there is Kinomoto Touya, who adopts wonderful cooking skills from his father. And this right here is his sister, Sakura." Syaoran's eyes met Sakura's for the briefest moment. He quickly looked away. "So, now you've met everyone. And, everybody, this is Fang Yin, my--"

"I'm Syaoran's very soon-to-be fiancée," she said proudly.

"Nice to meet you, Fang Yin," Sakura said, bowing. She repeated it in Chinese, slowly but very clearly, and then quickly explained, "Tomoyo taught me a little Chinese during the flight. I asked her to teach me how to say 'nice to meet you.' My accent is a little funny, though."

"It's actually very good," Syaoran and Meilin complimented at the same time.

"Would everyone like to come inside for some tea?" Yelan offered.

"I plan to take them shopping this afternoon, Auntie," Meilin politely declined. "Oh, and if it's okay with you, we'll have dinner outside also."

Yelan nodded. "Very well, then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will return to my chores." Her eyes landed on Sakura. "It's absolutely wonderful to see all of you again. Syaoran, will you please make sure your friends are seated in the family section tomorrow morning?"

He looked back and forth between his mother and Sakura, both of whom had a warm expression on her face, and then replied dutifully, "Yes, Mother."

Once Yelan disappeared behind the doors, everybody started talking at the same time. Touya and Yukito, stating they would happily skip the shopping and would join the group later on for dinner, decided to take Wei's suggestion and sauntered into the garden to admire Wei's newest flower bushes. Wei followed behind them, bragging about how successful he'd been breeding the Koi and also discovering ways to tend a rare orchid.

Sakura and the rest remained on the driveway.

"Wow, the family section!" Tomoyo said happily. "Your mother is too, too kind!"

"Well, we do consider all of you part of the family," Meilin stated, stealing a quick glance at Sakura, and winked at Tomoyo. "Especially Kinomoto-san, who's become such a dear friend of ours."

"Sakura Kinomoto," Fang Yin said, articulating every syllable clearly. Her pretty brows met at the center of her forehead. "The name sounds familiar to me."

"She's--" Syoaran began.

"She's the captor of the Clow cards," Meilin jumped in. "She tamed them and currently owns them, though they're called the Star Cards now that the ownership has switched."

Fang Yin's expression was curious as she looked at Sakura. "So, you are the infamous card captor Sakura." She observed her from head to toe; and when her eyes finally rested on Sakura's face, she gave a little smirk. "You look different from what I imagined. I thought you'd be . . . I don't know, taller."

"Sakura's awesome," Meilin continued. "She wrestled all kinds of demons and creatures, solved many mysteries and defeated dangerous obstacles to obtain those cards. She saved our lives many, many times during the process."

Tomoyo translated every word. A tinge of pink crept up to color Sakura's cheeks and ears. "Meilin-chan . . ." she called in a timid voice, her tone begging for Meilin to stop bragging because it made her feel uncomfortable. "I received lots of help from all of you. Especially you, Meilin, and Syaoran-kun. So the cards kind of belong to you, too. And besides, some of the cards actually chose Syaoran-kun instead of me."

Syaoran chuckled softly at the remark. "What, all three of them? One of which you _gave_ to me?"

"You deserved them."

Fang Yin caught a glance the two shared in that very moment; she did not need a translator to comprehend the meaning behind the look. Her eyes narrowed.

"I see," she whispered under her breath, eyes still on Sakura. "Well, in that case, let me give you a hug, Sakura." She opened her arms wide and pulled Sakura into her embrace. "It is an honor to meet you. I'll prepare a special chair for you tomorrow."

Her sweet voice made Tomoyo shiver.

"Thank you," Sakura said earnestly.

"Okay, then - off to the shops!" Meilin exclaimed, raising one fist in the air. "Let me go and fetch my driver." She trotted into the mansion, calling the driver's name.

"I think Syaoran and I must prepare for tomorrow's event," Fang Yin said as soon as Meilin was gone. She linked her arm with Syaoran's, indirectly branding him her property. "Lots to do. Dresses and robes to try on. We hope you have a wonderful afternoon, Sakura and Tomoyo."

Subtly, but quite firmly, Syaoran shrugged Fang Yin's possessive arm off his elbow. She looked at him with a mix of confusion, hurt, and annoyance altogether clear in her eyes.

"I'm going shopping with my friends," he stated. "Have fun with the dresses."

Tomoyo's lips curled up into a triumphant smirk.

"But you still have a couple of robes to try on so they can get fixed," Fang Yin protested in a half-whining tone, placing her hand back on Syaoran's elbow. He shrugged her off again. "And what about the rehearsal," she persisted, "we still have to tackle that down so that everything will be flawless tomorrow."

"Everything _will_ be flawless," Syaoran said. "Please, stop worrying about that or the robes. Nothing's wrong with them, my mother's checked them twice. I'd try and enjoy the rest of the day if I were you. This is, after all, our last day of freedom."

Tomoyo looked like she was about to jump and cheer. "I'd take that advice myself," she said instead, her voice calm, her face illuminated.

"Syaoran," Fang Yin droned on. "You simply can't go out having fun and acting crazy the night before our engagement."

His left eyebrow arched and he whipped around to face her, his gaze hard and intense. "Don't embarrass yourself," he hissed. "If this is how it's going to be for the rest of our lives -- you telling me what to do, controlling my every move, preventing me from spending time with my friends, then I'd much rather divorce you now, before we take a sip of that bitter engagement tea tomorrow morning."

Tomoyo raised a hand to cover her mouth and her happy grin. Fang Yin gasped in horror. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly like a goldfish in need of oxygen, then stomped her foot and, pouting, turned on her heels and walked off into the house. She nearly collided with Meilin, who, highly charged and excited, was running through the front door.

"Hey, watch it!" Meilin yelled.

"Is the driver ready?" Syaoran asked; his voice was back to normal.

Meilin nodded. "Yeah, he'll be out in a minute."

"Good. I need to get out of here before someone else decides to keep me imprisoned."

Just before they stepped into the limousine, Meilin leaned over to Tomoyo, tugging on her hand. "What on earth happened . . .?" she whispered.

"Oh, how I wish I had my camcorder in hand!" Tomoyo uttered, her eyes glimmering. "Meilin, I think our plan is definitely going to work!"

- - -

They spent the rest of the afternoon roaming around the Times Square. Sakura busied herself snapping pictures here and there, ooh-ing and aah-ing whenever she saw anything cute, huge, elegant, amazing, or mind-blowingly different, which was pretty much all the time. She also highly praised the trendy style of fashion people were wearing.

Meilin seemed to have no problem spending money quickly. In a span of forty-five minutes, she managed to buy three cute t-shirts with a beautiful friendship poem printed on the front - blue for Tomoyo, pink for Sakura, and red for herself, a leather backpack for Syaoran to start the new school year with, a pair of matching scarves for Touya and Yukito, and a bag of sugar-coated donuts for Kero, who had to endure staying inside Sakura's bag since the moment they'd landed at the airport.

At an elegant upscale boutique where the shopkeepers addressed her and Syaoran by their first names, she picked up a lacey silk handkerchief for her aunt, and four pairs of cute dangly earrings for Syaoran's sisters. She stopped by a sports store to buy a baseball cap for Wei. She talked Sakura into buying a baby-pink jacket and insisted to pay for a pair of dusty pink knee-high boots to match the jacket. Tomoyo bought a few meters of colorful, butterfly-patterned fabric, which she would turn into a summery costume for Sakura.

While deciding on a gift for Fang Yin, Meilin politely declined Sakura's choice of an adorable skirt, reasoning that it was too expensive for a skirt (which it really was not), and downright said no to Tomoyo's idea to buy the same pair of earrings as those for Syaoran's sisters. She asked Syaoran for ideas but turned down every suggestion that involved clothing articles, sunglasses, shoes, cell phone accessories, and cute stationery. With a sigh, Syaoran eventually said she could buy whatever she liked. So, when they passed a candy counter, Meilin casually stopped by and bought Fang Yin a candy bar.

Touya and Yukito caught up with them close to dinnertime. Occasionally they would pass an ice cream parlor, a candy cart, a chocolate shop, or a bakery, all of which Yukito had to visit to buy something. Touya managed to keep up with him half of the way, but after a mint chocolate chip ice cream sundae, the fifth snack they'd had that afternoon, he outwardly surrendered. Syaoran was satisfied with a medium-sized cup of cream soda, which he had carried from the first shop to the last.

The girls finally announced dinnertime when Syaoran was about to pass out from hunger. Meilin bounced up to the front of the group and, grinning wide from ear to ear, mentioned that she had reserved a private dining room at a Chinese restaurant just around the corner.

It was one of those high-end restaurants which interior was dominated in red and gold, the wooden tables glossy and the chairs had a curvy back. Paintings of landscapes, sceneries, and groups of first-class societies in ancient times elegantly decorated the walls, framed in gold.

A small pond with a waterfall that produced a serene trickling sound welcomed them at the entrance. Meilin greeted the slim, beautiful hostess wearing a red Chinese dress who escorted them to the side of the restaurant, through a set of double glass doors, and into a bright dining room. A round, two-tiered table stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by seven chairs. Displayed along the walls were shelves of antique Chinese bowls, crystal goblets, and slender wine jugs.

"Nice choice, Meilin," Syaoran complimented as he took a seat next to Sakura. His heart gave a little leap when Sakura's hand accidentally brushed against his as she reached for her napkin. He glanced sideways at her, but she was too busy observing one of the wine jugs on a shelf on the wall to notice what had just happened.

"Thanks," Meilin replied, beaming. "It is our favorite restaurant, after all, so I thought it would be appropriate."

"Well, the food is certainly good here, that's for sure." Syaoran unfolded his napkin and spread it neatly over his lap.

"I like the décor," Tomoyo said.

Meilin immediately uttered an agreement. "It's so divine, isn't it! Look at that painting on the wall there!"

A server in a black suit and crisp white shirt appeared at the door. He distributed menus around the table, and asked if they would prefer a set dinner or order a la carte. Everyone agreed to order a la carte. This way, Kero would have a chance to pick the food he'd like as well. Once the server had left the room and the doors were closed, Sakura reached inside her bag and pulled Kero out.

"Aiyaaaaaaa - I was about to die in there!" he complained.

Sakura had let Kero out a little during their shopping trip, after she'd made him promise not to make a sound or look alive. But it had been about an hour and a half since then. From the looks on his face, she could tell that Kero was grateful he could breathe fresh air again. He took a deep breath and exhaled noisily; his eyes widening as he spotted the menu.

"Look, Meilin made sure you get a private space at this table, complete with a chair and all," Syaoran said, pointing at an empty spot between Sakura and Tomoyo.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah - thank you, thank you, thank you!" he uttered, fluttering over to the empty chair, and perched on top of his plate, the menu propped open in front of him. "Mmm, dessert. Yummy, yummy, yummy."

He ended up ordering five different types of desserts and a pork dish. Everyone else decided to choose a main dish and a dessert each, to be shared by all. Dinner turned out to be a very pleasant affair.

Meilin was first to put down her chopsticks. She looked around the table and announced in a clear voice, "I guess it's time now for Daidouji and I to reveal our plan for tomorrow."

- - -

Sakura put down her teacup and murmured almost inaudibly, "Activate The Return so that Syaoran-kun can go back to the past . . . ?"

"You are all out of your mind," Touya commented, taking a big gulp of his iced tea. "That's way too risky. Not to mention someone can get hurt. And yes, I mean _you_," he gestured at Syaoran.

"But it's the only option we have," Meilin insisted, her tone pleading. "Daidouji and I have talked about this, and out of the few cards we believe could be used, The Return is the most effective one."

Meilin pulled out her crumpled sheet of paper, where a complete list of all the cards was written down, and placed it in the middle of the table, next to a blue-white porcelain plate full of vegetable dumplings. "We discussed the possibilities of putting different cards into action," she said. "Like The Dream, for instance."

"We figured that if Sakura could somehow control The Dream to show Fang Yin that Syaoran isn't the person she is meant to spend the rest of her life with, she might back out," Tomoyo explained.

Syaoran held up a hand. "You can't control The Dream like that. It tells you dreams that predict the future; all Sakura can do with it is activate it, but she can't wish for it to create certain visions of the future."

"I was going to say that," Kero muttered. He pulled the plate of dumplings closer to him and picked up a piece. From the other side of the table, Yukito chopsticked another piece.

"We realized that," Meilin said. "Well, eventually we did. So we crossed The Dream out. And then we came up with . . . well, _I _came up with The Twin. I thought that if we could duplicate Syaoran so that there would be two of him, then one could stay with Fang Yin and the other remained with Sakura."

Syaoran whistled. "Not a bad idea."

Touya shot him a glare. "You can't have both girls at the same time," he remarked harshly. Syaoran blushed.

"No," he retorted quickly. "What I meant . . . no one would have to get hurt that way, and everyone could stay happy . . . "

"Still, you'd end up with both girls."

Syaoran opened his mouth to protest, but then decided to keep quiet.

"Anyway, after that Daidouji came up with . . ." Meilin paused and glanced at Tomoyo. "You tell them."

"I came up with The Erase," Tomoyo said, quite boldly.

Sakura gasped. "No."

"The card that makes things, and people, vanish permanently," Kero cited its properties. "Oh man, you really are scary sometimes, Tomoyo."

"That doesn't sound too bad to me actually," Touya said. Sakura slapped him on the arm and threw him a murderous look.

"In all honesty, I kind of agree with you," Meilin chimed in, nodding her head twice.

"Yeah," Syaoran whispered, "if she never existed, I wouldn't have to get stuck in this stupid situation right now."

"But _I_ can't agree with that!" Sakura cried out. "I would never do anything like that. Think about Fang Yin's family; if she disappeared, her family would be devastated. To have someone you love so much suddenly taken away . . . you have no idea how painful that is. I will _not_ do it."

"And you don't have to," Yukito said wisely. "Taking such drastic action would be beneficial on one side and one side only, after all." Picking up another piece of dumpling, he asked casually, "So, how about The Return?"

"It really is an idea that I encouraged," Syaoran confessed.

"Meilin and I thought about it," Tomoyo said, "but it's such a complicated and dangerous card and we didn't feel comfortable even suggesting it."

"But I thought . . . if I could go back in time to see my father just before he wrote the will, I may be able to persuade him to change it."

Touya jumped in his chair. "That's absurd! I thought the idea to use cards was stupid, but this is just downright unacceptable!"

"I don't know if that would be a good idea, either," Yukito chimed in.

"We can pull it off," Meilin said confidently. "I know we can."

"First of all, these cards are not always tame and mellow, are they?" Touya countered. "All of us here know full well how dangerous they can be. We've all gotten into an accident of some sort at least once when they were loose, and we even came very close to dying in one or two occasions."

"But that was before Sakura captured them," Tomoyo supplied. "They wanted to be liberated and were going out of control."

"What if the card went awry suddenly tomorrow?" Touya challenged. "How do we know _for sure_ that Sakura's strong enough to keep any of them controlled?"

"She is," Kero said, taking a spoonful of pudding.

"I am!" Sakura exclaimed.

Yukito suddenly raised his hand. "My other self asks for Sakura's permission to make an appearance."

"N-No, no! Not here; it's a public place!" Sakura hissed in panic, straining her neck to see through the glass doors at the other patrons dining outside.

"Is it possible for him to speak through you?" Tomoyo suggested.

Yukito was quiet for a moment, then he smiled. "He says that using the cards sounds like a good idea."

"Aha!" Meilin clapped her hands and then high-fived with Tomoyo.

"I can't believe you're actually supporting them!" Touya exclaimed. "It's outrageous!"

"It isn't me, it's my other self talking."

"Yes, I know; he's the one I'm yelling at right now."

"Though if you ask me . . . I'll say it's worth a try."

"Yuki--"

"Even though you don't have the telepathic ability to sense Sakura's powers anymore does not mean you have to stop believing in her, Touya." Yukito's voice was calm, though it undoubtedly carried a tone of firmness. "Your powers to you then were like what the cards are to Sakura now; they aided you in your tasks, but they didn't make you who you are. If she says she can do it, she can."

The table was quiet for a while. Suddenly Kero belched. "Was that Yue talking?" he asked incredulously.

"No," Touya murmured. "That was all Yuki." He glanced at Yukito, who gave him a reassuring smile. Touya sighed and leaned back against his chair. "Fine, then. Do whatever you want. But _be safe_."

Just as soon as Touya finished talking, Yukito's eyes fluttered close and his head fell limply against the back of the chair. Touya quickly placed a hand around Yukito's shoulders to prevent the other boy's head from hitting the chair.

"_Hoeeee_!" Sakura yelped. "Wait, wait! He can't do this right now. Not HERE!"

In an instance, a pair of great, snowy-white wings wrapped around Yukito's body like a cocoon. Seconds later, Yue appeared.

"_Y-Yue-san_ . . . !" Sakura whimpered, "you're not supposed to -- without my -- _people may see you_!"

Yue stood up and went around the table to a corner farthest from the door. "There," he said in a stubborn manner. "No one can see me now."

"Still though -- the lights are on and --"

"First of all," he cut her off gently, without a dismissing tone. "Saying that it _may be_ doable to use the cards does NOT automatically mean that I like the idea. Secondly, you're forgetting one crucial factor here. The Return allows you to witness events in the past as a ghostly observer _only_; you can't interact with people and you can't touch things. Basically, you'd be nothing but air. Put that into consideration. Not to mention the fact that a great deal of magical powers would be required to activate the card AND to bring the traveler back."

Kero crossed his arms over his chest and slumped on top of a turned-over, unused teacup. "Why do you always have to bring the mood down?"

"I'm just being reasonable. I'm the judge, after all."

Sakura spoke up timidly, "When I activated The Return for the first time, Clow-san could interact with me."

"That's because he was an exceptionally powerful wizard. Don't forget that he created these cards, and only _he_ knows how to dismantle their properties, if needed."

"There _has_ to be a way," Syaoran murmured relentlessly. "There are fifty-two cards in all; there _must_ be something that we can use."

"Should we contact Eriol and ask him to come over?" Meilin offered. "Or Mizuki-sensei? One of them will be able to help."

"They wouldn't make it here on time," Tomoyo said matter-of-factly.

Meilin leaned back against her chair with a loud huff. A pout was gradually forming on her mouth. "We have less than twelve hours to annul this engagement and we are back to square one. Daidouji and I spent hours and _hours_ watching those videotapes, and I spent days doing research on the cards in the library at the mansion, fully believing that _something_ is going to work - and this is where we end up." Her eyes glistened with tears of frustration. "Just _great_." She sniffled. Tomoyo put a hand around Meilin and began to caress her back soothingly.

Seeing Meilin cry desperately, Sakura gritted her teeth in anger, her hands balling into fists. Everybody had been so worked up about the plan, believing that she, Sakura, would be able to make things right the way she was supposed to. Even Tomoyo's mother was willing to spend so much money on their plane tickets and hotel rooms, hoping that Sakura would succeed in her task. But she was disappointing all of them. Because she was not strong enough. She did not have enough powers to help the only person she truly ever loved.

Maybe she and Syaoran were not meant to be, after all. She should pack all of her bags and leave Hong Kong first thing in the morning. Without saying goodbye, because that would make her even sadder and remind her of the disappointment she had caused. She would write to Syaoran later on and tell him the she-- Her eyes were beginning to feel warm.

No. This was NOT how it was supposed to be.

There MUST be a way.

" . . . _Zettai daijōbu da yo_ . . . "

Sakura's ears perked up. The voice sounded utterly familiar - a girl's voice - where did it come from? She looked around at her friends and stared at Kero.

"Z_ettai daijōbu da yo_," it spoke again. And suddenly it whispered very close to her ear, "Everything will be alright, Sakura-chan. We'll help you."

She blinked once.

"Of course," she whispered. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her lips stretching into a big smile. "That's it! Why didn't I think of that before? Stop crying, Meilin-chan, I know what to do now!"

Sniffling, Meilin looked up at her.

Sakura continued. "There are more than fifty-two cards in my possession. And with the help of the fifty-third card we can definitely pull this off!"

"But The Nothing was destroyed completely," Yue stated, sounding confused. "How come there are--"

"It did not entirely vanish," Sakura answered. "It merged with a card that was born from my own despair, and together they became The Hope."

Sakura pulled The Hope out from inside her handbag. It gleamed silver and gold in her hand.

"When I heard that Syaoran-kun was leaving Tomoeda for Hong Kong for good, I was in a wreck. I thought I'd never see him again and I wouldn't be able to express my feelings for him. Wrapped up in so much hopelessness, subconsciously I created a card. It didn't have a name yet at that time. During the battle against The Nothing a couple of months ago, it traded itself with the rest of the cards that had been captured, and surrendered itself to The Nothing in place of Syaoran-kun. The merge of the two became this card." Sakura caressed the surface of the card. "The Hope. And I believe that it will come to our aid tomorrow."

"Look at the symbol," Tomoyo said, pointing at the winged heart. "It was meant to be."

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((ch. 11))


	13. Ch 10 Interlude

**Note:** I felt the need to include a little bit of an interlude between chapters 10 and 11. Not only as an excuse to insert a few explanations which I couldn't fit into Chapter 10 and won't be able to fit in Chapter 11, but I also wanted to know what happens between Syaoran and Sakura on her first night in Hong Kong, the first time they see each other again after the "break-up." This also serves as quite a nice break before the unavoidably lengthy Chapter 11, which hasn't exactly been written yet, though the outline is so clear in my mind it is almost transparent. Oh, and besides, Syaoran's birthday cannot just go by unnoticed, can it! ;) UNBETAED.

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**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Ten   
Interlude**

_Left leg up . . . right hand over head . . . left forefinger up_

Exercise. Whenever he was troubled, he exercised. It helped take things off of his mind, at least for a while. And it helped, even for a tiny bit, ease the pounding headache that had attacked him quite unexpectedly after dinner.

_Turn quick . . . right leg stretched . . . sword down_

It didn't take a genius to figure out the cause of the migraine. The looming engagement had taken over him in the past few days, and there was that exhilarating sensation of having Sakura there, so physically close to him. All of this had become a little too much for him, nearly unbearable.

_Standing position . . . legs and feet aligned . . . hands down_

He glanced up towards Meilin's window at the silhouette of three girls inside the room. Meilin had insisted that the girls spend the night at the mansion so they could catch up with each other's stories. Tomoyo, only too happy to accept the offer, immediately packed up her and Sakura's bags at the hotel.

Sakura would be sleeping in Meilin's room that night, next to his bedroom. And he wasn't quite sure just how to handle that. Once, during a camping trip up on the mountains with their school, they slept in bedrooms that were next to each other, much like now; and sure, they'd spent a sweet moment together by a crackling fireplace while their classmates were tucked warmly in their beds. It was nice. But this felt different, like he was actually spending the night _with_ her. As if she was sleeping right _there_, next to him, and there were no walls in between his and Meilin's rooms.

The image drove him close to insanity, and he wasn't the kind that would normally lose control.

_Sword tucked in . . . palms together . . . eyes closed_

He needed to meditate. Calm himself down.

_Think flowing waters . . . think frothy rivers . . . think green meadows and cute little yellow flowers . . ._

But pink and white cherry blossom petals were all he could see behind his eyelids. They were floating around him, teasing him. They giggled at him and were calling his name.

His insides had churned awkwardly upon seeing her earlier that afternoon. He was nervous, and happy, and worried, and excited . . . and a thousand different confusing feelings were ricocheting madly against his ribcage. She had smiled at him and said hello -- does that mean she wasn't angry with him? Could that also mean that she was _over_ him? His shoulders slumped.

Evil forces and gigantic bullies he could handle, but damn that thing called love. Love was too complicated. An unfathomable, senseless thing. Its alluring wickedness cost him many sleepless nights and awarded him with cry-for-mercy migraines. He felt like bashing his head against that big dull rock by the pond, a couple of feet away from him.

Syaoran opened his eyes and stepped up onto the bridge. He leaned against the railing and stared into the dark water underneath. The iridescent moon was staring back at him.

A few days ago he was still her boyfriend, and she was his girlfriend. They had sat on the couch in her living room as he told her about the engagement. Was he breaking up with her that night, or was Meilin correct that, really, he had come to seek her out for help?

"Sakura . . . " The name escaped his lips in a long sigh.

"What?"

The voice made him jump in surprise and he toppled backwards. The girl had materialized before him, looking at him with big, round eyes. Did he summon her with the force of his mind . . . ?

"Wha-- Where did you c--" he sputtered, his face turning hot within a millisecond. "_Why do you always do that_!"

_And always when I thought I was alone and safe to say your name out loud._

She extended a hand; he reached up and let her pull him up into a standing position.

"I didn't mean to startle you," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry."

Her hand fit in his perfectly, as if it was made to be that way. He didn't want to let go . . . .

He sighed, dropped his hand, and muttered, "It's okay. I was so deep in thoughts and I didn't hear you coming. It was my fault."

He returned to his spot against the barrier on the bridge. She followed. For a moment they just stood there side by side, watching the Koi create small ripples in the water as they swam.

It was awkward. Really awkward. At the same time, his heart danced happily in his chest.

As their gazes met in the dark, mirror-like pond underneath, a sense of familiarity surged through him. A feeling of comfort, soothingly gentle and exciting, covered his entire being like a security blanket. He felt warm, at home, and content. And suddenly it wasn't all that strange anymore to stand next to her like this, so close that their elbows were practically touching. It was rather . . . perfect.

Despite the maddening thuds of his heart, his voice was low and soft when he spoke. "Thank you. For coming over."

Sakura nodded. "Of course." She watched as a lotus pad floated by.

He wanted to reach out and pull her close, bury his face in her hair and inhale the sweet strawberry scent that was so characteristically her, the very fragrance that had haunted his dreams practically every night since he had left Tomoeda last summer. But he was afraid that if he did so, he wouldn't be able to control himself. First he needed to be sure where he stood with her now, in the relationship that, to the both of them, seemed to have ended. She had agreed to help cancel the engagement, even planned along with the girls on how to get the task done, but that should not be a good enough assurance for him to believe that she would get back with him. As for now, he was still the bad guy in her eyes, someone who broke up with her to marry another girl. Painful as it was to consider, Syaoran wondered if it was merely Sakura's nobleness that had carried her to Hong Kong, the drive to selflessly put others out of misery -- but not to return to him.

So, he stood where he was, a little too close to her yet far enough so that he couldn't be tempted to jump her.

They hadn't talked much during the day. Meilin monopolized the conversation most of the time, and Syaoran had gladly allowed her to. That way he had all the liberty to watch Sakura. She had hopped from one shop to another with Meilin, laughing jovially. Her cheeks had blossomed red from the heat and excitement; her green eyes gleamed brilliantly against the afternoon sun. When she laughed, everybody else had laughed along with her. And she had never looked more beautiful.

It pained him to realize how _much_ he really missed her. When he was around her, everybody else seemed utterly insignificant to him. Not even the goddess-like Fang Yin, with her eloquence and dazzling beauty, could stir his attention even for a split second. He had rudely pushed Fang Yin away when she had tried to keep him at home instead of going shopping. He didn't immediately understand why he did that, but now he could clearly see that he simply could not bear to be away from Sakura. Especially not when she was just a touch away. It was almost like needing oxygen. No, it was _exactly_ like that.

She had tried to speak to him, of course. She's just the type that can't stand uncomfortable silences. Also, she might have thought he was bored, just tagging along with the girls like that. He had responded to her, though with one-sentenced answers; he'd wanted to keep his distance intact until he was sure of the situation between them.

But tonight surely made it more challenging, being alone with her in the darkened part of the garden, less than a hand-length away from each other. They would have to talk. _He_ would have to talk.

He felt her gaze on her. He remained still, eyes on the water.

"Fang Yin is very pretty," she said in a small but genuine voice, startling him. "She seems really nice, too."

He nodded in agreement, and then stated earnestly, "She doesn't compare to you."

He stole another sideways glance at her, and braced himself to speak some more. "The truth is that I was afraid of this engagement. To be betrothed to someone you never knew, met, or even heard of is downright wrong in my opinion. On the other hand, I couldn't defy my father's death wish."

Sakura listened quietly, her eyes were round and big, staring at the reflection of the moon in the water.

"I was in despair, too. Not only because I was forced to do something against my will--" he turned to her and looked her full in the eye, "--but I'm so in love with you and _you're_ the one I want to be with. I wouldn't betray you. I wouldn't betray myself."

For a moment Sakura just looked at him, wide-eyed, seemingly stunned at his words. He held her gaze.

It took a few agonizing moments before she could speak. "I feel the same about you."

At that moment, he knew that everything was going to be all right between them. He took one step forward, closing the annoying distance between them, and wrapped his arms around her. His eyes fluttered closed when his nose touched the top of her head. _This_, he thought, serenity washed over him, _is home_.

"Syaoran-kun," she whispered against his chest. "If you were so unhappy, why didn't you just tell me?" Sakura looked up at him. "I'd understand if you decided to marry Fang Yin because you loved her; but if you married her because you thought you had to, that's not right. You would regret it for the rest of your life, and you'd be unhappy for an eternity. At the same time, she would be suffering as much as you would, maybe even more because she _does_ love you. To have the person you love be taken away from you is painful, but to marry someone who doesn't love you back . . . that's torment in its purest form."

Syaoran knew she was right. Girls knew these things. And they knew how to say them, too. Holding Sakura even tighter against his chest, he looked up at the moon and watched a gray mist cloud over it and fade. It reminded him of his heart -- it was covered with a black mist when he found out about the engagement, but Sakura's existence had blown it away.

"I don't think this is what your father would want, either, if he understood the situation," she whispered very softly.

He nodded. "And I'll make sure he knows. Tomorrow."

He held her hand in his and led her toward the gazebo. It was even darker down there, save for a stream of faint moonlight seeping through the tree branches. The gazebo, normally off-white in color during the day, was now bathed in a bluish silver ray, making it look pearly, almost surreal. Syaoran motioned Sakura to sit up on the ledge. He stood before her, his hands around her waist.

"Do you think we can pull this off?" he asked her.

"Yes." Her voice carried so much confidence. He smiled and caressed her cheek lightly. _This_ felt surreal.

"Syaoran-kun, can I ask you a question?" He nodded. "When did you invite my brother and Yukito to come here?"

He knew he had to talk tonight. He was prepared for it, though.

"Since the day my mother told me about Fang Yin Xiu, I'd been considering all possible ways to undo the bind. When Meilin came to me and encouraged me to go on with the idea of returning to the past to see my father, it became clear to me that _that_ is what I need to do. I realized I would need your help, but I wasn't sure you'd reply to my invitation -- I thought I'd managed to make you be so mad at me that you wouldn't speak to me ever again. So, I contacted your brother instead."

"And he complied? Just like that?"

"Well, not immediately," Syaoran said. "He really is a kind person, and much softer than he looks." He grinned. Sakura giggled a little. "I asked -- well, half pleaded, really -- for him to give permission for you to go to Hong Kong once school was over for the summer. I mentioned the fact that I would need a bit of your help to put certain things into place before the engagement took place, without giving any detail at all. He sounded a bit skeptical for most of the time, but eventually agreed to persuade you into coming. He did give me one condition, though, that he and Tsukishiro-san had to come along as well. And I really didn't mind that in the slightest."

"It's even better that they did come," Sakura said cheerfully. "Because with Yukito here, Yue is here, too, and he would be a great help, just like tonight at dinner."

"Exactly."

"But," her expression turned thoughtful, "even if you did ask me directly, I would've been happy to accept."

"I was sure you were angry with me. I mean, I _did_ sound like I was breaking up with you, and to marry another girl, of all reasons."

"And I thought the same about you," Sakura confessed, blushing a little, "that you were mad at me for saying goodbye. The morning after you left, Tomoyo convinced me that you had come to me to ask for help rather than to break up with me. I'm sorry I hadn't seen it that way." Sakura bowed, hands clasped on top of each other on her lap.

Syaoran touched her chin with one finger, lifting it up gently. "Please, it wasn't your fault. I hadn't worded things correctly that night; it all sounded wrong and misleading."

"We're going to do well tomorrow," she said, her tone reassuring. "And we'll correct this situation." They exchanged a smile.

"Oh, by the way." Syaoran's expression suddenly grew serious. "Can I see The Hope?"

Sakura pulled the card out of the pouch she always carried. She pulled out The Despair, too. Syaoran observed both cards and listened as she explained how both of them had created the latter. When she was finished, the expression on his face was a mix of bewilderment, disbelief, and shock. He stared at the winged hope, pinned on Sakura's blouse, just a little above her heart.

"How did Rika know about it?" he asked incredulously. "The shape, I mean?"

"Remember the capture of The Sword?" Syaoran nodded. "We'd gone shopping for brooches that day, before everything went chaotic. The pin I bought was a heart-shaped one with wings, while Rika chose the sword and Tomoyo had something that looked like a crucifix. The day after the capture of The Sword, I felt so horrible to have taken Rika's brooch away, and decided to give my pin to her instead. She felt obliged, I guess. When she went to Tsukimine Shrine and bought materials to make pins some time ago, she accidentally found a shape that looked just like the pin I had bought that day. She thought I'd appreciate it."

Syaoran was thoughtful for a minute. "It was meant to be," he mused.

"Tomoyo said the same thing, too!"

"You have very strong magical powers, Sakura. Things that happen around you don't just occur for no reason; you have to be more perceptive of them. You get foretelling dreams every once in a while, too -- observe them, listen well, and write them down as soon as you wake up. Doing this obediently will help you become a great sorceress one day."

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "I will do that from now on." She grinned.

Syaoran placed his arms around Sakura's waist again.

"So, um," his eyes flashed mischievously, "you and I can feel each other's emotions now? I can know when you miss me?"

"I guess," she said, a faint shade of pink colored her cheeks. "And that will be every day, just so you know."

"Can we read each other's mind as well?"

"I don't think so."

He straightened up and leaned forward, his face so close to hers, he could feel her warm breath on his upper lip. "Then . . . do you know what I'm feeling right now?"

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated. It didn't take her long. Her eyes flashed open and, blushing, she hit him hard on the shoulder. Syaoran laughed. He cupped her face with one hand, his thumb tracing invisible circles on her cheekbone.

"That day . . . after we captured The Nothing . . . " Sakura paused. Her face was growing redder by the second. She looked down at her lap, avoiding Syaoran's gaze.

"Yes?"

"Well, you . . . you kind of . . . very quickly . . . "

"Mmhmm . . . ? What are you referring to?" His eyes twinkled coyly. He knew _exactly_ what she was referring to -- or rather, what she was asking.

"I wasn't sure if you meant to, but . . . you . . . "

He moved even closer and placed his cheek on hers. "I . . . what?" he teased.

A sudden beeping noise startled them both. It was a constant, monotonic type of beeping, like an alarm. It came from Sakura's left hand.

"Oh!" she gasped, staring at her wristwatch. "Oh my goodness, I nearly forgot!"

"What happened?" Syaoran asked, perplexed.

"It's twelve midnight." Sakura jumped off the ledge and looked up into the sky.

"Will you turn into a pumpkin or something?" he asked dubiously.

"No!" she ran from the gazebo and onto the bridge, her eyes still fixed on the sky. Syaoran looked up in reflex.

"Vampires coming?"

"_Syaoran-kun_," Sakura snapped, though with a smile. "You can be so exasperating sometimes!"

"But I don't understand--"

"Stay still."

"Okay." His tone was wary.

Sakura pulled the chain from around her neck and held the magical key up. She muttered the incantation and within seconds the key transformed into her Star Wand. Syaoran looked even more wary now. His eyes searched the sky and grounds rapidly.

"It's not like that," Sakura assured him, with a grin. "Just relax and enjoy the show."

She pulled out two cards from her pouch and threw them in the air. "Sparks of light, illuminate the sky as bright as day . . . GLOW! FIREY!"

The free forms of the two cards blended into each other and soared high into the night. A second later, a round-shaped, sparkly firework exploded, its shimmering bits descended onto the earth. Sakura cheered, jumping up and down jovially. Another firework followed immediately, lighting up the night brilliantly with bright green. Next, golden swirly shapes emerged from where the second firework had started, and shot star-shaped fireballs to different directions, each creating a loud crackling sound. The sky was bright as day, the moon had run to hide behind clouds, probably feeling intimidated. Five more fireworks, in different shapes, blasted loudly one after another. Every window in the mansion was wide open now, its habitants poking their head out, gasping aloud as firework after firework exploded in the sky.

From Meilin's window, Sakura saw Tomoyo letting go of a yellow winged creature out into the night. Kero rocketed straight to the source of the fireworks, and disappeared behind a new explosion. The next one that appeared formed a sentence, as if a great invisible hand was writing the words in the sky: _otanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu, Li Syaoran!_

Sakura turned to the very astounded Syaoran, his mouth gaping, eyes as wide as saucers. She giggled. "Surprised?"

He couldn't speak, nor could he move. He stared at the birthday wish just a few moments longer before averting his eyes to look at her.

"Kero-chan taught me how to use Glow and Firey together to create fireworks. Apparently Clow Reed used to do that quite a lot on New Year's Eve. I thought it would be a nice birthday present for you. The Happy Birthday wish was his idea." She moved to stand before him, and bowed. "Happy birthday, Syaoran-kun!"

Her voice was drowned in the wave of handclaps that had erupted following the sky-high fire greeting, though he could hear it clearly in his mind. Her eyes were brighter than the blinding sparkles up above when she looked up at him. Dozens pairs of eyes were on him, on _them_, and people were shouting Happy Birthday from their respective bedroom window. But Syaoran could only see her and her brilliant green eyes, gazing up at him happily, lovingly.

She was beautiful.

Without thinking, he took a step forward, with one hand swinging swiftly around her back to pull her close, and leaned in to kiss her deeply on the lips. The gesture took her by surprise that she gasped, but Syaoran did not let go. The handclaps grew louder and noisier, now joined by happy whoots and shrieks of excitement (most likely coming from Meilin's window). But all he could hear was the thunderous beating of his own heart, and Sakura's, who had seemingly passed out in his arm and gone limp. His other hand reached up and held her face in place. It felt hot against his palm; undoubtedly she was blushing furiously. He opened his eyes and let himself drown in the intoxicating glimmering pair of jades that were gazing back at him.

"How ever can I thank you?" he whispered, his voice trembling.

"Just say it," Sakura breathed rather than spoke.

He did not hesitate. "I love you."

"It was supposed to be 'thank you.'"

"Same thing."

Her hands wrapped around his back. She tiptoed a little and planted a light kiss, a very quick one, on his chin. "Happy birthday."

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**Note:** Happy (very, very belated) birthday, Syaoran-kun:) If only I were a bit more diligent writing the story, this chapter could have been posted around his birthday on July 13. I am dedicating this special chapter to all of YOU SxS worshippers out there, and to my beta-reader **FFxKHxLove**, because her request for romantic SxS scenes was too darn tempting to resist.


	14. Chapter 11

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Eleven**

The Li mansion was bathed in sunlight when Sakura rose from her bed that morning. A stream of pale yellow that burst through Meilin's open window created a bright square patch on the dark-colored carpet. The melodious chirp of morning birds greeted her at the window, and she took in the fresh scent of grass and roses that erupted from the garden. She could hear Wei's husky laughter echoing from the direction of the Koi pond. This was her idea of a perfect morning, a perfect beginning of a perfect day.

A few seconds was all it took before the images from last night came back to her. Her lips stretched into a wide smile and her cheeks burned pink. Sakura closed her eyes, allowing every scene to roll into life behind her eyelids. The thudding of her heart became louder as she reminisced and she worried it might wake Tomoyo and Meilin. She opened her eyes and shook her head a couple of times to clear her mind. Now wasn't the time to be dazed. She had work to do, and she couldn't afford to fail. She forced herself to focus on the matter at hand.

Sakura grabbed her bag of toiletries from the top of the nightstand that she shared with Tomoyo -- her bag was pink and Tomoyo's was light blue -- and sauntered into the bathroom.

Meilin's bathroom was the size of her family living room back in Tomoeda. A row of paneled doors walled the right side of the corridor, each of them labeled: Sweaters and Jackets, Dresses, Tops and Pants, Skirts and Shorts, Shoes, Scarves, Hair Accessories and Jewelry. Across from these doors was a pair of cream-colored marble vanities, planted to a mirrored wall. On the counter in between the two sinks stood a bowl of pink water with tiny lotus petals floating in it. A mild scent of lavender emanated from the far corner, where an onyx plate stood, holding two short pillar candles, both unlit. A pile of fluffy hand towels was set on one side of each sink, next to a porcelain soap dispenser in the form of a full bloom lotus flower.

Amazing!

Sakura didn't know any other thirteen-year-old girl -- or any _woman_ for that matter -- that owned a bathroom as luxurious as this. She had believed that Tomoyo's mother's powder room was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. But she had to admit that even _that_ looked plain compared to this.

At the end of the wardrobe corridor was a set of glass double doors, the lower part frosted. Sakura noticed the work of art to be a river with two swans floating on the water and rose bushes surrounding it. She pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside. She shivered when her foot touched the floor, which had turned glacial thanks to the air-conditioning system that ran overnight. To her left was the toilet, colored in the same hue as that of the vanities. A pair of ceiling-to-floor shelves guarded its sides, holding towels, a good supply of toilet paper, extra bars of soap, a couple bottles of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, three tubes of body lotion in different scents, and various hair products. To the right, finally, were the bathtub and stall shower.

Sakura placed her bag of toiletries on the long countertop in front of her, and prepared for a shower. She turned the tap to one side and tested the water; once it was warm enough, she stepped in. She made a mental note to ask Meilin if the Li mansion used a certain formula in the water supply to make it smell like lilies. She washed her hair, soaped, scrubbed her face, and immersed herself thoroughly within the rain of soothing warmth. After drying off, she wrapped a towel around her and went to the vanity room to brush her teeth. Meilin had showed her where the hair-dryer was the night before. She picked it up from inside the drawer under the sink, and ran it on high over her hair. Five minutes later, she was done.

Meilin had hung all of their dresses behind the wardrobe door marked Dresses -- kimonos for Sakura and Tomoyo, and an elegant Chinese dress, in red, for Meilin. All three of the dresses were wrapped in a Laundromat-style plastic cover, courtesy of the house of Li. Sakura pulled her pink kimono out from the rack and carefully removed the wrap. Gently she unfolded the material from around the satin-smooth hanger, and enveloped herself with it, layer by layer. It felt rather cold against her skin, a result from being hung in an air-conditioned wardrobe. She sniffed the fabric briefly -- it smelled like lilies. Meilin must have used lily-scented freshener in her wardrobe, too. Her pale blue obi remained folded and draped neatly over the hanger. Tomoyo will have to help with that later. She placed the hanger back into the wardrobe and returned to the vanity.

Her hair didn't need much fixing. Sakura merely brushed it a few times and pulled the sides around the back, tied it together, and attached a green velvet ribbon to the knot. The hairpiece complemented her brown hair beautifully and brought out the color of her eyes.

Sakura smiled in the mirror. She would never admit it out loud, but inwardly she knew she looked good enough to attend a ball at the Emperor's palace.

Tomoyo and Meilin were still asleep when she tiptoed back into the bedroom. Kero snored loudly from the foot of Tomoyo's bed, occasionally mumbling something about lychee pudding. Sakura glanced at the alarm clock on Meilin's nightstand. She couldn't believe her eyes, she was an hour early. This should give her plenty of time for a leisure stroll in the garden before the ceremony would commence. She did wonder, however, how she could manage to cheat the alarm clock and wake up so early. It couldn't be jetlag considering Tomoeda and Hong Kong were only an hour apart; it must have been excitement that had gotten her out of bed so soon. Come to think of it, she hadn't really slept that well the night before, either. Last night's images helplessly rushed into her mind again, bringing a splash of red into her cheeks. Desperate for a distraction to get her focus back on the task at hand, Sakura made her bed quickly and reorganized her travel things. She grabbed the Book of Cards and slipped out of the door.

The rest of the mansion, she immediately discovered, looked like a madhouse. People were running to and from different directions, carrying various kinds of ornaments, chairs, tables, and centerpieces, speaking loudly at the same time and sometimes yelling something to someone else from across the hallway. Sakura crept along the corridor, leaping gracefully out of people's way every now and then, and made it unscathed to the grand staircase, which had been decorated most delightfully in red and gold. Sakura inched to the side of the stairs so that she wouldn't have to step, or as much as touch, the red velvet that ran down the middle of the stairs. She quickly made her way to the ground floor.

Sakura went around four big men carrying a flower arrangement in a huge urn, and shot through the open front door onto the front porch. The condition out there was worse than indoors. Two trucks were parked outside the house. Young men were unloading big sparkly things out of the backside of a truck and passing them to other men scurrying from inside the mansion. Sakura noticed two of Meilin's attendants, standing just a few feet away from one of the trucks, one hand raised over their mouth as they whispered to each other. To her surprise, both sets of eyes were fixed on her. Instinctively, she turned around and disappeared into the pathway that led to the Koi garden.

Apparently Wei had managed to keep the ruckus-makers away from his garden. There was practically nobody there but Wei himself, busy feeding the Koi. Sakura wished him a good morning and received a cheerful reply. He hinted subtly that the back garden would be a good spot for hiding that morning. Sakura gladly took his suggestion and headed that way.

Her mindless walking directed her to a large tree, its trunk so sturdy it could have been mistaken for a small building. She looked up and saw that the branches up there were tangled in the most bizarre, complicated way, and the leaves were so dense that she could hardly see the sky. It looked like a perfect place for someone who was in need of some peace and quiet to mull things over. What a shame that she was wearing a kimono. It would be too difficult for her to climb up without ripping off her outfit or tripping and falling. She leaned against it instead and began to compose spells in her mind to use on The Return. She'd never had to pre-compose spells before, but this time her task was too important and critical; she couldn't afford to make mistakes. She had to make sure Syaoran didn't end up getting stuck in the past with no way of returning to the present whatsoever. She also had to make sure he would travel into the correct timeframe, not just any random time in the past. The real pressure of it all, she realized, was on fact that she had to be so precise in her timing and spell casting; she couldn't take too long or too early, or Syaoran would miss the ceremony and it would ruin everything.

"Take him to the day he was born!" she uttered. Not bad for a first try. Second attempt. "Cast your power on him and take him to his birth day!" Well, that sounded rather stupid.

A loud rustle from somewhere within the madly entangled branches made her gasp in surprise.

"Quite frankly, I prefer the first."

She looked up and squinted. With his head sticking out from over a branch quite high up, Syaoran grinned at her.

"Hi," he greeted casually. "Wow, you look _nice_!"

"Thanks. Um, _how_ did you get up there?"

"It's very simple," he answered. He leapt to a branch a few feet lower on his left with a loud _whoosh_. "And straightforward--" bounced over to the right and swung under a branch, "--and swift."

Suddenly, he was two branches above her, hanging from a thin leafy stem with his feet dangling in the air. He let go and flew down, touching the ground in a stylish crouch in front of her.

"What were you doing up there?" Sakura inquired, once again squinting up at the branches, gauging the height of the tree. "It's like a maze!"

"I know. Cool, isn't it?" He rose and took a few steps forward towards her. He followed her gaze. "I've been climbing this tree since I was a toddler. I did my homework here, plot ways to capture Clow Cards here, and recently," his eyes darted to her, "--read your letters here."

The feeling of warmth returned to her face in lightning speed when her eyes met his. "I see."

A corner of Syaoran's mouth lifted, his expression smug. "It's my tree," he announced proudly. "My sanctuary."

Sakura chuckled lightly. "Normally kids our age brag about toys or clothes -- but you. You own a tree."

He nodded, reaching up to hold the side of her face in one hand. "That I do." He leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"To answer your earlier question," he continued in a low voice, "I was hiding up there to think. It's too crowded at the house, too much headache."

He placed two fingers under her chin and caressed it with his thumb. The pair of amber eyes glinted tenderly in the light, his gentle gaze generated feelings that were foreign to her. Feelings that she had never felt before but knew had always been there, buried in the deepest corner of her heart, waiting to be called.

"So, how's your morning been so far?"

He spoke in such a voice that made her gasp. Belatedly she realized she had forgotten to breathe.

"I-I'm not sure," she answered honestly, subconsciously retracting until her back is flat against the tree. Her palms touched the tree bark. "Good, I think. How, um, are you?"

She mentally slapped herself for stammering like a dummy. How could he be so smooth and dazzling at a moment like this and when they were in such _close_ proximity; and all she did was stammer and turn into a puddle of goo? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He closed all that remained of the distance between them and breathed into her face, "Let me find out."

He pulled her into an embrace. Sakura sighed, eyes fluttering closed, and she wrapped both arms around him, the side of her face resting on his collarbone.

"Now I'm good," he said, exhaling. She could feel his lips stretch into a smile against her earlobe. Then he added in a more serious tone, "I've lost you once, Sakura. I'm not going to lose you again." The arms around her tightened. "I love you too much."

"You won't lose me," she promised, caressing his back gently. "And I love you, too. But you already know that."

She felt his arms loosening a tad. When he bent his head, she felt his nose touching the soft skin under her jaw.

"You smell good."

"Thanks to the stuff in Meilin's shower, whatever it is."

"No, it's something else." He lifted his face reluctantly to gaze at her. His eyes darted to her mouth, lingered there for two seconds, and moved back up again. The smile gradually shifted into a smirk. "Something . . . delectable."

Ignoring the thunderous rumble in her chest, she chuckled nervously. "Have you been writing to Eriol and learning lines from him? I must remind you, he's much more mature than us despite his looks. The things he says sometimes . . . tsk."

She wanted to say they were _seductive_, and that _Syaoran_ was being seductive, but she couldn't find the courage to say it.

"I don't talk like him," Syaoran said defensively, the smirk turning sly.

"Not _exactly_, but you're starting to sound like a total charmer somehow. You used to be shy and quiet, and dangerous, and absolutely challenging. Now you're just--" her eyes twinkled teasingly, "--ordinary, like any other guy at school."

He gaped at the remark. "_Oh_. Is that right? I can be challenging if I want to." He took five steps back and crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow rebelliously. "There. Now I'm all serious again."

Sakura giggled. "You're silly, Syaoran-kun. Come on, you've got to help me think up a good spell for later. We can't possibly be wasting time here like this."

"I told you, that first one was really good. And we're not wasting time. We haven't seen each other for so long and now that I have you here I'm not leaving your side." He strode forward and grasped Sakura's hands in his. "I will pretend you never compared my behavior with Hiiragizawa's cunning antics." He turned gentle and seductive again. Sakura suppressed a whimper and bit her lower lip.

"I've missed you, Sakura."

She looked down to hide the blush, but his fingers were suddenly on her chin and nudged her face back up. She had no choice but to look straight into his honey-gold eyes, which were staring at her with a gleam so lovely it paralyzed her completely, melted her down to the bones. Her knees were failing on her and she did the most natural thing that she could muster -- she put her arms around him and clung onto him tightly.

She kept her eyes open when he tilted his head to the side and touched his lips to hers. The morning sun made his hair sparkle; it turned a lighter shade of brown. The tips of his bangs tickled Sakura's nose, grazing back and forth against her skin. She tightened her grip around Syaoran's neck and her eyelids snapped shut.

He parted his lips a tad and, tentatively, ran the tip of his tongue along her lower lip. Cherry-flavored lip-gloss? Strawberry? No, it was purely _her_.

Sakura sighed and pulled away. Feeling completely disoriented and even more dazed than she had been, she looked up sheepishly at Syaoran. "You're really good at this, you know that?"

His teeth flashed in the sun. "Your brother will _kill_ me. I hope he never finds my family's sword collection."

"I won't tell."

"I know, but he always has his own way of finding things out. And if he knows we've been kissing--"

A noise emanating from the other side of the garden made them leap a few feet apart. Syaoran listened intently, and when the voices became clear he groaned out loud.

". . . cheating! What does she mean _cheating_! She's the one that waltzed into _his_ life and decided to wreck _his_ love life! _She's_ the one we should be calling a tramp!"

"Meilin--" came Tomoyo's motherly voice. It was tinted with worry.

"I can't believe the nerve of that girl! What a vile, cruel, _heartless_ little--"

Meilin stopped abruptly when she saw Syaoran and Sakura under the tree. Her foul mood instantly flipped a hundred and eighty degrees. She flashed them a big smile and ran towards her cousin.

"Sya-oh-raaaaaaaaaaaaan!" she shrieked and flung her arms around his neck. "Happy birrrrrthdaaaaaaaaaay!"

She planted a wet kiss on his cheek, making a loud smooching sound when she did.

"Thirteen years old! You're officially a teenager now. How does it feel, hm? Bigger? Wiser? Cuter? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"It feels the same," Syaoran choked out a reply and coughed. "Meilin, can you get off me, please? You're cutting my--"

"We should celebrate massively tonight!" Meilin continued, her arms still around Syaoran's neck. Sakura and Tomoyo giggled at Syaoran's annoyed expression. "I say we have a picnic by the river and stay there 'til midnight, or we can go back to that restaurant you like so much, the one we went to last night. Oh, but we were just there last night. Hmm . . . well, I have another place in mind, your second most favorite, and I can still call to make a reservation for tonight after--"

"Meilin!"

With all his might, he pried Meilin's fingers from around his neck and pushed the girl off him. He stood a good arm's length away from her. "Can! You! Stop! This! Please!"

Meilin pouted. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

"Normally people just say 'Happy Birthday,' calmly and _softly_. No need to strangle me and shout in my ear."

"Happy birthday, Li-kun," Tomoyo said, bowing politely. Syaoran bowed back and thanked her.

"Anyway!" Meilin's smile returned, eyes wide and bright. She twisted around and faced Sakura. "Kinomoto-san!"

"Yes," Sakura stood up straight, hands on her sides.

"Can you persuade him to go to whichever place I'm taking him for dinner tonight?"

"Yes."

"_Ja_, that's all set, then!"

"Meilin," Syaoran called levelly. He waited until the girl stopped batting her lashes coquettishly at him before speaking. "Were you talking about Fang Yin just now?"

Meilin's expression changed. Morose is a perfect word to describe it.

"She showed up in the kitchen about fifteen minutes ago while we were having breakfast, all dressed up, and pulled me out into the living room. 'Is it true,' she asked, 'about Syaoran and that Japanese girl?' I said yes and told her that you and Kinomoto-san have been going steady for quite a while now. She had this really weird look on her face; her eyes were almost evil. I didn't want to know what went through her mind at that time. She said, 'No matter. Syaoran is _mine_ and I'll do everything in my power to keep it that way.' I told her straightforwardly, 'I don't know how to put this gently, Fang Yin, but _Syaoran doesn't love you_. He doesn't. The first time he heard your name was a few days ago, and you must be completely deranged to think he can fall in love you in just under a week. Just so you know, he finds this engagement truly repulsive.' She seemed absolutely annoyed that I threw the truth so blatantly in her face like that. But one thing was for sure -- she wasn't _that _surprised to hear about you two. She went on mumbling to herself about not believing how _you_ could _cheat_ on someone like _her_, who's so perfect in every way and who loves you more than anyone ever could."

Syaoran was appalled.

"Eurgh, she disgusts me!" Meilin shivered.

"You do realize you were being a little harsh on her." He managed to keep his voice calm, though concurrence was clear on his face. "Calling her deranged and all."

"She _is_, though, and you know she is. And she deserves to hear it!" Meilin said, pouting. "Cheating," she mumbled hotly. "Tsah! Stupid cow."

"This certainly complicates things," Syaoran stated dismally.

Meilin snickered. "That's an understatement. She _insists_ that we start the tea ceremony now and perform the engagement right after that."

"She _what_?"

"Auntie sent me here to fetch you."

"We couldn't even get dressed properly," Tomoyo chimed in. "We were practically yanked away from our breakfasts."

Only then Sakura noticed that Meilin was still in her sleeping gown. Tomoyo was wearing jeans and an old t-shirt she'd slept in.

"Auntie did say, however, that _you_ have to wear your robes no matter what. It was odd," Meilin paused, her brows furrowed. "She muttered something under her breath that sounded like '_it should buy him some time_' -- whatever that means."

From a distance, they could hear Wei calling someone in an urgent tone. The four of them ran to hide behind the maze tree.

"I can assure you Master Syaoran and Lady Meilin are not here," Wei said. "Please go back to the house, young ladies."

"My sisters," Syaoran hissed, his voice dripped with panic. "They followed you here, Meilin. Damn it! Why do they have to be so nosy?"

"What should we do?" Sakura asked Syaoran, then turned to Meilin and Tomoyo. "I'll do anything," she said, her voice pleading. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

It was the voice from behind her that answered, "Use that one card."

She whirled to find Touya and Yukito standing side by side, a grim expression clear on their faces. Syaoran looked flabbergasted at the sight of Touya.

"Which card?" Sakura asked, louder than she intended.

"The one you used when you were sick," Touya answered. "If it assumes the kid's appearance and does whatever his family asks him to do, just for the morning--"

"--then Syaoran can go away to see his father!" Meilin finished in a whisper. "It's brilliant."

"Of course!" Sakura exclaimed. "Onii-chan, you're a genius!"

"Hurry up, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo pleaded. "We really don't have much time."

While Sakura turned her key into the Star Wand, Touya inched sideways towards Syaoran. He tapped the younger boy lightly on the shoulder.

"You _will_ remember this," he said. "Traveling to the past is not a trip; it's gravely dangerous. You have to watch your step, literally, and make sure you _don't touch anything_ or stir as much as a whisper of air. Any blunder, no matter how accidental or insignificant it seems to you, can cause the death of everything that you see, feel, and breathe in at the present time. Pure catastrophe. Do you understand?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yes, of course I do."

"You really, fully, thoroughly understand the imperative need to be extremely cautious?"

"_Yes_. Though Yue did say--"

"Whatever Yue said, _promise me_ you'll be careful."

"Okay, I promise! Geez, you sound like a--"

Syaoran noticed the change of expression that flitted across the taller guy's face; he was looking back at him in a protective sort of way, maybe even a worried sort of way. There was only one person Syaoran had seen him give the look to -- Sakura. He gulped, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Touya was turning paternal on him. Like a brother.

Touya snickered. "Keep your opinion to yourself." He turned his focus back to Sakura.

"Can I ask you something?"

Touya gave him a sideway glance.

"How long have you been standing there spying on us?"

The older boy's lips twitched unpleasantly. "Being a brother is a full time job for me," he said casually. "You don't have to like it."

He didn't, but he had to learn to live with it. To his surprise, he didn't mind it very much.

Syaoran averted his attention to Sakura, who had her wand at full size and was now flipping The Mirror in the air.

"Project the image of the boy standing next to me . . . MIRROR!"

Sakura did not miss the quick exchange of glances between The Mirror and her brother as the card transformed. She saw Touya smile and give a nod before the pretty long-haired girl stepped out from the oval-shaped mirror; her size, shape, looks all resembled that of Syaoran's. Even down to the golden tint in his hair.

"Wow," Meilin breathed. "You really look like . . . ." She reached out and touched the card on the arm. "And you_ feel so real_."

Sakura stared at the new Syaoran unblinkingly. The card's lopsided smile made her feel faint. She staggered backwards.

"Hey!" Syaoran exclaimed, leaning forward to catch Sakura. "He's not _real_! _I am_!" Annoyance was very thick in his voice. "For goodness's sake, snap out of it, we've got work to do!"

Sakura shook her head a few times and blinked rapidly, slowly returning back to reality.

"That's right," she said, straightening up. She stepped up to the card. "Mirror-san, please, this is the most crucial day in my life. Please do your best."

The card nodded.

"I'll take care of him," Meilin offered, linking her arms with the card's, eyes fixed on his face. "I mean, I'll take care of her."

Yukito made an alarming throaty sound all of a sudden. "Someone's here," he whispered.

They listened intently.

"Syaoran! Meilin!" came a high-pitched voice.

"Mother's looking for you both!" called another one.

Touya acted quickly. "Leave those girls to us. You be careful," he said firmly, glancing at Sakura. "Don't do anything rash. And you," he whirled to Syaoran. "Good luck. Make sure you come back in one piece."

"Come on, Touya," Yukito urged, pulling Touya by the hand. "They can't afford to lose any time."

"Syaoraaaaaaaaan! Meiiiiiliiiiiin!"

"We're coming!" Meilin uttered. "Good luck, Syaoran, Kinomoto-san. I'll see you soon."

She bounced to Sakura's side and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and then turned to Syaoran and gave him a quick hug.

She and the Mirror trailed after Touya and Yukito, and disappeared around the corner. A short moment later, Touya's chuckle and Yukito's cheerful laughter rang in the air, topped with the Li sisters' shrill giggles.

"We're safe," Syaoran said in relief, exhaling loudly. "Now we need to get a move on."

"Wait -- Kero-chan. I can't do this without Kero-chan!"

"He's still sleeping upstairs," Tomoyo said sadly. "I couldn't get him to wake up. It's like he's completely passed out. Like he's drunk or something."

"He muttered something about lychee pudding in his sleep earlier," Sakura mused. "Was there alcohol in that thing? He ate _lots_ of it."

"We have no time, Sakura," Syaoran pressed. "Every second is crucial. We have to do this quickly."

"Please be careful, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said. She reached out and squeezed Sakura's hand tightly.

"But . . .Kero-chan . . . "

Syaoran grabbed her wrist and tugged on it hard. "He'll be awake soon. Now _concentrate_ and let's do this."

She felt her eyes getting hot. Syaoran placed both hands on her cheeks and forced her to look at him. His eyes were hard, grave. "We need to do this, Sakura. I need you now more than ever. Please."

Feeling a surge of confidence flowing through her -- probably emanating from Syaoran -- Sakura raised her wand and flipped The Return in the air. She took a couple of deep breaths, and with determination pointed the wand at the card.

"Take him to the day he was born . . . RETURN!"

She threw another card out, one with a picture of a girl holding a winged heart. She grabbed onto Syaoran at the same time he wrapped one arm around her.

"I love you," they both whispered.

The blinding white light that enveloped them hurt Tomoyo's eyes. She shut them closed, and when she opened them a second later, she was alone. Both Sakura and Li were gone.

"Sakura-chan?" she called, her eyes searching the empty space before her. "Sakura-chan?"

She circled around the tree, touching it and pounding on it. Sakura was sending Li _alone_, wasn't she? That's what she was _supposed to do_, isn't it?

"Oh no . . . Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!"

She ran towards the bushes and frantically pushed the sharp twigs aside. Maybe Sakura had gotten hit by the lightning during the process and was thrown out into the bushes somewhere.

"_Sakura-chan_!" she screamed.

The sound of fluttering wings behind her made her turn to look. Kero, looking worn-out and unhealthy, hovered just a few feet away.

"Tell me I'm assuming wrongly," he said in a very worried tone. His voice was unusually hoarse, his eyes extremely puffy. "She couldn't have . . . _They couldn't have_ . . . !"

"They're gone!" Tomoyo shrieked in panic, tears streaming down her cheeks. "They're _both_ gone!"

The Beast of the Seal floated stiffly in the air, his tail hung limply, his lips pursed into a very thin line. For the first time ever, Tomoyo recognized the gleam in Kero's otherwise playful eyes as fear, and this frightened her. She started to sob.

"The Return can only take one person to the past, and one person alone," Kero muttered, his brows intertwined at the center of his forehead. "If Sakura's there with him in the past, she won't be able to use The Time to bring them both back. The kid _should've known_ this. What good would it do, being a descendant of Clow Reed and all, if he didn't even know such crucial thing as this!"

"What if she tries from there?" Tomoyo whispered hopefully, her breath catching. She swallowed in attempt to calm herself down a tad. It didn't work; she was having a panic attack.

"No one's ever done that before," Kero said, his head hung in defeat. "Not even Clow. He always had Kaho Mizuki helping him."

Tomoyo slumped onto the grass; her sobs grew louder. "Oh, Sakura-chan . . . ."

* * *

((ch. 12))

**Note: **WHEW. I'm so glad I finally got done with this chapter. Two more chapters and an Epilogue, and the novel will be complete. Whootness! I got a little carried away writing about Meilin's bathroom. I contemplated taking the whole thing out, but in the end I decided to keep it. It just looks so nice in my head, and I could smell the lilies and lavender and hear the air-conditioning whirring . . . so yeah. Also, I didn't plan to throw in a sweet little kiss in this chapter, but Sakura practically begged for it, so. :)) Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave feedback on your way out! Special thanks to my beta-reader, Armageddon Angel. You're awesome.

PS. I've decided to create an account on LiveJournal to host my S+S fics, drabbles, and post Winged Hope cookies. I haven't posted anything but one entry so far, but feel free to check it. My username is w1ngedhope. It's strictly Sakura/Syaoran.


	15. Chapter 12

**WINGED HOPE**

**Chapter Twelve**

It felt like only a few seconds had passed. Syaoran opened his eyes to see a cloudless sky above. He could hear birds chirping somewhere close by and children laughing in the distance. A feeling of déjà vu tickled his senses. For a moment he wondered if he'd returned to the same dream from a few nights ago in which he'd chased after Sakura though she'd kept slipping away from his grip.

Something next to him moved and moaned. His brows furrowed. If the spell had worked then he shouldn't be able to feel anything; he'd be nothing but air, just like Yue said.

"Did we make it?" came Sakura's muffled voice. She lifted her head and turned to Syaoran. "Are we in the past?"

The rest of his senses came to life just then. He felt Sakura's fingers twined with his and the weight of her legs on top of one of his. Slowly, he rose into a sitting position and, blinking rapidly, observed his surrounding.

The Li mansion stood behind them, but something about it looked different. Instead of glass panels, the door had a solid wood frame and the windows had shutters. The driveway that curved from the main gate to the front of the house had disappeared, and in its place laid a narrow pavement framed with rose bushes and hydrangeas. Unless the drastic change had magically occurred over a matter of minutes, Syaoran believed he was staring at his family's house in its early years. Hopefully, in the year that he was born.

"Syaoran-kun?"

And Sakura was there with him. Together they could roam around freely and learn about his past. They'd closely observe his sisters and decide if they had always been spoiled princesses. Oh, and Sakura would see the baby version of him. The embarrassment . . . .

Wait. Syaoran's head snapped around to the girl. Sakura! Was there! With him!

_Oh God_.

He cussed under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, sitting up as well. She smoothed her kimono with her hands.

It couldn't be. No, no, no, no, _no_. It could _notnotnot_ be!

"Syaoran-kun, you're white as a ghost," Sakura joked and giggled..

He couldn't smile. He couldn't move. His heart stopped beating for a second. How could he have been so DUMB as to let slip something so _vital_? Sakura mustn't be there -- how the hell would he return to the present without help from the other side, and with _all_ the powers required to bring him back being there, with him, in the past? The consequences were dire, if not downright lethal.

"Sakura--" he choked. He couldn't tell her. She'd freak out. He took a couple of deep breaths and tried again. "Yes, Sakura, we are in the past. But _you_ aren't supposed to be here. You were supposed to stay back and bring me home."

Sakura stared at him, flabbergasted.

"I made a mistake." Syaoran sighed, his eyes fluttering closed. "_I should've __remembered_ that a card captor's spell is like an electrical current. It's the most basic law." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Do you ever get electrical shock?"

Sakura nodded.

"Do you ever touch someone when that happens to them?"

She pondered, and then nodded. "Tomoyo, in first grade. We were playing with the new product from her mom's company when she got a shock, and I grabbed her thinking I could get her off of the thing, but got shocked in return."

"Well, physical contact with any person, or any being, that occurs during spell-casting allows the magic to course through that person too, just like what happened between you and Tomoyo. You and I touched, and that simply granted me a fraction of the power being generated. Since I grabbed onto you . . . ."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror, her hand flew up to her mouth. "Oh . . . ."

"Yeah."

"Kero-chan _never_ told me this! How could he miss something crucial like this?!"

"He never thought anyone would be stupid enough to touch you during spell-casting."

"But people have made physical contact with me before. Meilin, when I was sick that night, and you, too, when I was changing Light and Dark into Sakura Cards!"

"Those were different; you weren't exactly _casting_ a spell then. Meilin helped hold your wand after you cast the spell. I channeled my powers to you so that you could transfer the cards to Sakura Cards, also after you cast the spell. But just now we held on to each other _during_ the casting of the spell." Syaoran groaned. "If both of us are here and no one on the other side has The Time to bring us back . . . ."

Sakura scanned her surrounding frantically. "But I can use The Time from here, right? I can bring us back from here, can't I?"

"I honestly don't know." He let out a long sigh, his brain searching for options.

"What--" Sakura paused and swallowed, her heart thrashing violently as she considered the worst possibility. She took a deep breath and continued in a tiny voice, "--what happens if we can't go back?"

"We _will_ go back," Syaoran replied quickly, his hand squeezing Sakura's. "I won't let you think otherwise. I'll bring us back."

_I don't know how,_ he thought, _but I will. I promise you that._

Their eyes met for a second, and Sakura realized what Syaoran was silently asking her to do. She concentrated and immersed herself in the intensity of the moment. Then she felt it, the confidence, the belief, the fierce hope for the best outcome. If Syaoran said they'd be able to go back, they would.

Feeling calmer, Sakura nodded and smiled. "Okay, then." She took Syaoran's hand and let the boy pull her up to her feet.

"For now, let's just focus on what we came here for."

Remembering his promise to Touya, Syaoran warned gently, "Watch where you walk. Make sure you don't accidentally step on anything. Don't touch anything and try not to sneeze or cough."

Sakura quickly averted her eyes to the grass to make sure she wasn't about to step on flowers. She frowned at the sight. "Oh my," she breathed, and stopped walking. "Syaoran--"

He tugged on her hand when she halted and urged her to move along. "We need to hurry up. Um, you're very sure we can't be seen, right?"

Shaking the bewilderment aside for a moment, Sakura looked up and nodded. "If I wasn't before, I sure am now. Syaoran-kun--" She glanced down again. It was creepy. Scary, even. She hadn't realized it before, she hadn't _noticed_. It turned out that Kero had forgotten to tell her about a lot of things indeed.

The grass underneath her shoes did not budge as she trod along, as if a very thin and very transparent layer of glass hovered above the earth just high enough to cover the grass, and she was walking on it. Her steps left behind a fuzzy, smoky trail, like mist.

"Let's _move on_, please," Syaoran insisted, his grip on Sakura's hand tightened. She decided Syaoran would find out sooner or later, and quickened her pace as much as the kimono allowed her to.

As they came closer to the front entrance of the house, the sound of laughter that Syaoran had heard earlier intensified. It came from the vast yard behind the house. Voices of little children -- he couldn't tell if they were boys or girls -- followed by a carefree laughter of a man and the cheerful yells of a woman. He veered off towards the sound and crept sideways with his back flat against the wall. Sakura's hand was warm and soft in his clammy, trembling one. He could not detect a hint of nervousness in her at all. Envy welled up in him. If only he could have just a fraction of her confidence.

"What are we doing back here?" she whispered.

"Making sure we're in the right timeframe. When Meilin and I were little, she used to come here every day to play with me and my sisters. I just hope that isn't her we hear screaming in the playground right now."

They reached a corner of the house that provided them with unlimited view of the yard. Under a tree, a young woman sat holding a baby, laughing as she watched four little girls playing tag in the field. The man standing just a little behind her looked utterly familiar.

Sakura gasped. "Wei-san!"

About a decade younger, with jet black hair slicked back neatly and a crisp black and white uniform that wrapped his tall figure perfectly, Wei looked like he'd just stepped out of a magazine. The image of a perfect butler. Syaoran stifled a snicker.

"Wish I had a camera." Sakura giggled.

"That's Meilin's mother." Syaoran pointed at the lady. "How old do you think the baby is?"

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip and squinted at the baby. "I went to a cousin's house some time ago and her baby was about two months old. Baby Meilin looks bigger. I'm guessing around three or four months?"

"If you're correct then we've definitely entered the right timeframe. I may have just been born minutes ago."

Sakura cringed. "You know how extraordinarily weird that sounds?"

Syaoran turned around and headed towards the mansion, Sakura's hand back in his. Once inside, he quickly ran up the stairs and jogged to the room at the very end of the corridor. He hesitated at the door.

"This is my parents' room." He stared at the frame. "They're probably inside right now, my mother and father."

"Go on in, then," Sakura encouraged, a big smile on her face. "I'll wait out here."

His fingers reached for the doorknob . . . and they disappeared in the round-shaped bronze metal. Tiny sparkles pooled at his wrist and hovered for a moment around the doorknob before they too vanished.

"Whoa, geez!" he gasped and pulled his hand back. He cradled it with his other hand and examined it carefully, palm and back. He counted his fingers to make sure they were all intact and rubbed them against his jeans several times, roughly at first, and then gently. He hadn't lost feeling in them.

"I wanted to tell you about this earlier outside," Sakura said. "The grass didn't move when we walked. Then I tried to touch the wall while we watched your sisters playing but my hand went through it, and it glittered just the same."

"_The Return allows you to witness events in the past as a ghostly observer only_," Syaoran whispered. "That's what Yue said. He said we can't interact with people and can't touch things. Basically we're nothing but air. We're like ghosts. People can't see us and we can't touch anything solid."

His expression soured once the words sank in.

"This must be what being dead would feel like. I used to think that ghosts _could_ feel things, like they could touch us just for fun. That's why when you're alone in a dark room, sometimes you feel something cold running on the back of your neck, that's their finger trailing down your spi--"

"Stop it!" Sakura hissed, hands covering her ears. Her eyes snapped shut. She was trembling. "Please don't bring up the subject of spirits and death!"

Syaoran's arm flew around her shoulders. "I forgot. I didn't mean to scare you. Meilin always likes those kinds of stories, so I'm used to just blurting it out like that. I'm sorry."

Sakura gently removed Syaoran's arm and squeezed his fingers, smiling a little. "It's fine. I just hate ghost stories. Anyway, why is it that we can still feel each other, though?"

"I guess we only appear ghost-like to this world. Now, if I can't touch the door knob . . . "

"Maybe you should just . . . walk through?" Sakura suggested. Syaoran stuck a foot in the wooden door and it went through it just like specters do in cartoon movies. That gave him a good enough boost of confidence. "Come with me." He turned to Sakura. "Please."

She nodded, and they both stepped through the door. It felt like walking through an archway.

A four-poster bed stood against the far wall. A sheer white curtain draped around it, its hems pooling on the floor. Attached to the bed was a small wooden crib. The powder blue blanket and sheet peeking through the bars on its side. On the bed, Yelan Li was asleep, the quilt pulled up to her chin. Slowly Syaoran inched toward the crib. He had been so absorbed with the idea of meeting his father that he had forgotten to prepare himself for this -- he was about to see himself as a baby.

A muffled gasp from somewhere on his right side startled him. Sakura beat him to the crib and peered in. "Ohhhhhhhhh -- Syaoran-kun, you're soooo _cute_!"

"Eurgh," he groaned, grimacing as if he was in pain, and turned to a different direction. "I'd rather not look. This is too weird."

He averted his eyes and observed the rest of the room, amazed with the fact that it looked exactly the same as in the present: his mother's vanity, the small piano, the desk and the hutch. Yelan had kept all the details intact, except for one. His eyes fell on a painting of his parents in their wedding attire, hung above her mother's desk. That had now been removed and replaced with an exquisite European artwork of a flowery meadow and a luxurious mansion.

Sakura, bending over the crib, cooed at baby Syaoran. She reached in to touch, only to be disappointed when her fingers passed through the baby's skin. The baby laughed. "You know, I think you like me." She giggled at her own statement.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and tugged on her elbow impatiently. "My father's not here. Come on, let's not waste any more time."

Reluctantly, Sakura straightened up and followed Syaoran out into the hallway.

"Where to next?" she asked, practically bouncing beside him.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

She giggled. "I get to have a peek at your life in the early years. It's exciting!" She made it sound as if they were roaming around at Disney World or something.

Syaoran tried to suppress his smile so as not to appear encouraging, but failed. Sakura looked too cute like that.

"We have a little shrine on the east side of the house, out in the garden. My mother goes there every month to say grace, and also on special occasions like birthdays, New Year's Day, and my father's death anniversary. She calls it a ritual that she and my father used to do together. I'm thinking he might be there right now to say thanks for my birth."

They trotted down the stairs and out of the house. Syaoran turned towards the backyard and took another turn around the corner. Sakura found it amusing when she recognized that Wei's current precious Koi pond was merely a spot covered in shrubbery. Colorful butterflies floated from one flower to another.

The pearly white and elegant gazebo stood not too far from it, and a little to the left of that, hidden behind a leafy archway, was a small shrine. They saw someone kneeling by a stone shelf full of offerings.

"He's there," Syaoran whispered, his voice trembling a little. "Let's go."

It wasn't really cold feet that made him take a pause at the mouth of the archway, but rather the eerie fact that, from this close a distance, the man looked like the adult version of him. He took a step forward to get a better sideways view of the man. The contour of his father's face resembled that of Syaoran's quite perfectly, apart from his jaw, which was more squared while Syaoran's rounded a bit at the sides. The thick eyebrows he definitely inherited, and so were the thin, small lips. The man even had the same hairstyle, though it was a darker shade of brown. And he was _tall_, much taller than Sakura's brother, and so nicely built that Syaoran couldn't help but feel envious.

"Father," he whispered. All intentions to annul the blood-signed ultimatum of a marriage forgotten, Syaoran stood like a statue, staring unblinkingly at his father, speechless and in awe.

Slowly Sakura retreated, untangling her fingers from his hand. "I'm going to see what Wei's up to," she decided, stepping backwards little by little.

When he didn't respond she turned around and walked quickly to the other side of the house.

Syaoran took a step closer towards his father, and then another. The man's long and slender fingers clasped together elegantly. His muscular forearms peeked out of the sleeves of his robe and Syaoran noticed how nicely tanned they were. His shoulders rose up and down gently as he breathed, and his handsome face carried a peaceful expression. His lips moved soundlessly. Syaoran had subconsciously leaned forward so close to his father now that he could've touched him if he wanted to . . . if he _could_ touch.

The need to hold his father in a quick embrace washed over him without warning, such a strong sensation it was that his breath caught. For so many years he had dreamed of having a father, of how it would feel to be hugged by one, to shake a father's hand at the end of every martial art competition he'd won, to fall into his arms at every birthday, and to look into a father's eyes that would look back at him with pride.

He was physically _there_ right now. Syaoran felt a lump growing in his throat.

Suddenly, the man before him smiled, his eyes fluttering open.

**  
**"So," he said very softly, "aren't you going to say hello?"

He rose to his feet and turned to face Syaoran. The gleam of pride was bright in his eyes as he spoke, "My son. I thought you'd never come."

- - -

Syaoran opened his mouth to speak, but all the words caught in his throat. He suddenly realized how ridiculous he must have looked -- widened eyes, shocked expression, gaping mouth.

"Your mother's done a remarkable job raising you," his father said. "My son."

There was that word again.

"You--" Syaoran choked. He swallowed and tried again. "You can see me?"

Of all the things that he would've wanted to say to his father, this definitely wasn't first on the list.

His father nodded. "Magic," he replied, waving his hand in the air nonchalantly like it was something so obvious that Syaoran shouldn't have had to question. "It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

"I thought using The Return makes us invisible."

"Yes, but people with extraordinary magical abilities can pierce through its powers and see the invisible, touch the untouchable."

His father extended one hand, palm up, and encouraged Syaoran to place his hand on it. Syaoran did. The hand felt warm. He pulled back immediately.

"I thought only Clow Reed . . . ."

The man stepped forward a little; Syaoran stepped back in reflex. The gesture seemed to have stirred something that made his father's smile falter. But the next second his lips curled up into a grin again, and he gestured toward a bench nearby. "Why don't we take a seat for a bit and have a little talk."

"I'm not sure I can," Syaoran said a little too quickly. He couldn't figure out why he felt wary and uncomfortable. Hadn't he dreamed of this day for ever?

"I know you are in a hurry," his father said. "But I promise I won't keep you long. Please, just a tiny bit of time?"

After a few seconds of consideration, more to gather up nerves and to calm the maddening pounding in his heart, Syaoran nodded. His eyes were glued to his father as they walked over to the bench. It was like looking in a mirror and seeing the reflection of himself a couple of decades older.

He carefully kept his distance from his father on the bench. How strange that after spending practically his entire life imagining this meeting, he was spooked to the bones now that it finally happened.

"Syaoran," the man said, and suddenly chuckled. "That _is_ such a beautiful name, if I may say so myself. I chose well."

"I thought Mother named me."

"She gave me two lists of names, girls and boys. All of them were wonderful, but I got to choose one from each list that was best. It took me nearly an hour sifting through those, mind you. The first time I got to call you by your name was just minutes ago -- and now here you are, a teenager already."

"Thank you … for my name."

"You're welcome," the man said with a smile. "So, you came here to ask me a favor."

Syaoran's brows furrowed. His father laughed.

"Magic lets you in on a lot of secrets. I know why you're here." He placed both hands on his lap, fingers interlaced. "The will I wrote, one that binds you in a marriage with Faikong Xiu's daughter. Such a nuisance that is."

"Please know that I would never disobey you, Father," he said quickly, feeling a jolt when he said the word. "But to go ahead with your will means that I'm betraying myself. I hardly know Fang Yin. I met her just a few days ago and now she's supposed to be engaged to me for life. It's truly quite unjust for the both of us." Syaoran looked down at the pebbles on the ground. "Especially considering the fact that I'm in love with someone else . . ."

His father placed one hand on Syaoran's shoulder, very gently. Syaoran didn't flinch. He felt the grip tightened just a tad. "I know you are. You wouldn't be here otherwise."

The older man's gaze followed a butterfly fluttering over a peony and then away into the gazebo. He cleared his throat before speaking. "There is something you should know about this will. Faikong Xiu and I wrote it together and our bloods were dropped to bind the agreement. He is such an ambitious man and has been so determined to marry his offspring into our family. Unfortunately they haven't been able to conceive all these years -- until now. I agreed that if our babies were both of the same gender, they would become brothers or sisters, and if they were a boy and a girl, they would be betrothed by the age of thirteen."

He turned to Syaoran and offered a weak smile. "I realized how difficult this could turn out for you -- for the both of you -- so, eventually, I managed to have him agree that if either of you found your true love and wished to annul the engagement, we would honor your decision."

Syaoran perked up. "Oh, thank you. Thank you so much! But why wasn't it written in the will?"

His father's smile turned mischievous. "Well, how else would I ever get to see you in person like this? I'm a selfish man, I admit. I deliberately arranged it so that one day you would come to ask me yourself. And now that the time comes, I'll put the last and most important part of the agreement into writing. When you go back, ask your mother to turn the parchment over and read the part on the back."

"Thank you, Father."

Syaoran received a smile in return. "You're welcome." The man stood up. "Is it time for you to go now?"

"Actually, may I ask you a couple of questions first?"

He sat back down, this time closer to Syaoran. "Fire away." They had the same eyes, but his father's were brighter, more intellectual.

"How can you see me? According to Yue, only Clow Reed and Kaho Mizuki have the ability to dismantle the properties of the cards."

"Yue the Judge was one of Clow's creations. His knowledge and memories go back as far as the day Clow created him, but never further. Clow taught Kaho Mizuki the magic behind the cards so that he would have someone to back him up just in case mishaps happened, or if the cards went out of hands. But in _our_ case," he turned a little in his seat to face Syaoran, "we're family. Our blood ran in Clow's veins and his blood spreads mischief in ours. You do recall that his great powers sprung from the mix of Eastern and Western magic together?" His eyes twinkled for a second as one corner of his mouth curved upwards. "We are the Eastern part of it."

"So you're saying that naturally we have some of his powers."

"Better than that," his father replied. "We _made_ him the way he was. Do you know where he gathered his magical powers?"

"In China."

"In the Li house in China, to be exact. Our family lived there for centuries, until about two generations ago when my great grandfather decided to relocate to a new world that is Hong Kong. Would you be so surprised if I told you that the library at our house is the original place Clow Reed recognized his powers for the first time? He spent his childhood poring over those dusty books. Forever a bookworm! For years he practiced magic and trained himself most diligently. He was an intelligent man to begin with of course, a beautiful advantage that eventually led him to acknowledge that if he blended his strong Eastern and Western magical sources, he could have the world folded in the clasp of his hands. And finally, that one fateful day, he did. And born was the most powerful wizard in the universe."

Syaoran felt smug that he would now be able to brag about all this to Yue and Kerberos.

"How do you know so much about Clow Reed?"

"I happen to be in possession of his diaries. He started writing them at seven years old and never stopped fulfilling parchment after parchment of life stories. Later on in the years he switched to plain, conservative books."

"Do you still have . . . I mean, may I read them?"

His father chuckled lightly. "Sure. Ask your mother for them. She insisted on keeping Clow's diaries locked up since the day your oldest sister was born. Your mother strongly believes that Clow's magic may inflict harm on the family. She made an oath to not let any of her children learn magic the way Clow did. She dreads the day any of you would come across his diaries and read them, and you might be intrigued, or worse, encouraged, to follow his footsteps."

"That really contradicts with the enthusiasm she demonstrated in regards to capturing Clow cards," Syaoran said. "She even sent me to Japan."

His father raised an eyebrow. "Did she, now?"

"I'm sure she just felt that the cards belong in the family and wanted them back."

"And you succeeded."

Syaoran blushed. "I captured a few, but failed to gain their trust in the end. Those cards were meant to fall into her hands, after all. She's a lot more powerful than I can ever be."

"She . . . ?"

Syaoran's cheeks turned redder.

"Sakura Kinomoto. The cards came to her and eventually chose her to be their owner. I went to school with her. We . . . became really good friends."

His father's eyes twinkled gleefully. "And Sakura's the reason you're here."

Syaorand nodded. He began to talk about Sakura and his feelings for her, and even mentioned the dream he had of the future with her, blushing furiously all the while. Just like water contained in a dam that suddenly came loose, the words rushed out of his mouth so comfortably. It amazed him how strangely at ease he felt. Being a private person he often found it difficult to confide in anyone, even the ones he considered his closest -- Meilin, Wei, his mother. But here he was pouring his heart out to someone he'd just met literally minutes before.

His father's expression softened when Syaoran finished.

"Do you want to meet her?"

The older man's eyes widened. "Sakura? She's here . . . ?"

Syaoran flinched.

"She used The Return to take you here but she's _also here_?"

"Yes, we kind of had a fluke. Would you think it wise to utilize The Time to return to the present?"

"Oh dear." His father's eyes moved rapidly, his brows furrowed in the middle of his forehead. Syaoran could almost hear the man thinking. Now he felt terribly nervous.

"Of all the times Clow played around with those cards, it is my son that has to get caught in the past. Although to be fair, Clow was so much more mature and possibly _smarter_ than a couple of thirteen-year-olds."

"Father, we made a mistake. We need to know how to get back now, preferably before the betrothal ceremony begins."

"Close your eyes."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow at the request.

"Just close your eyes and imagine a very long thin thread that connects you to, say, a friend of yours who lives across the street . . . across a _very_ _wide_ street. Are you seeing it?"

"Okay."

"You hold on to one end and he holds the other end. Whenever you need someone to talk to you can just tug on your end and your friend will know it's time to talk."

"Sure."

"Well, now imagine both of you standing on the same side, holding just that particular end of the thread. Do you suppose you'd wiggle it around hoping to get a grip on the opposite end, the end that you can't see, or do you pull the thread in?"

"Father--"

"Or imagine this. You tie one end of a rope to your house and hold on to the other end while you're walking into the jungle. If the thread broke, how would you get home?"

"Father, I _get it_."

Syaoran eyed Sakura walking towards them from the field and waved her over. He could just anticipate her ear-splitting _HOEEEEE!_ when he'd tell her they might not be able to go back.

The introduction went briefly, a bit rushed even, and afterwards Sakura and the older Li continued to stare at each other. Syaoran's father reached a hand to touch Sakura on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Sakura did the same.

Seconds passed. They both looked up and smiled at each other.

"You've been through a lot, young lady," Li senior stated. "I am proud of your accomplishments."

"Thank you." Sakura bowed. "I hope to learn more to understand things better."

"You will. My son, on the other hand--" Syaoran squirmed; his cheeks began to color again. "--he will need your help."

It bothered Syaoran more than a little that Sakura and his father shared important and private things that he could never have done, because he was not the chosen card captor. Without a doubt they had passed on each other's memories just now, most likely on Li senior's wish, and now his father knew everything about Sakura and Sakura had seen a glimpse of his life.

Swallowing the green monster deep into the pit of his stomach, Syaoran placed a hand on his father's forearm. "If there is any way at all you can think of to bring us back, Father."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, a look of horror in her face. Li senior raised one hand to stop her.

"Is your mother home?"

They both nodded.

"Of course she is, silly me. It's your betrothal, where else would she be. Come with me."

Without the existence of the flowers and the herb gardens Syaoran hardly recognized the trek, but when they reached a certain section in the open field, the sense of familiarity washed over him. His father pointed at a short stalk on the ground.

"Knock on it twice, and then again three times."

It felt odd, but Syaoran crouched and knocked. "What is this thing?"

"It's a beginning of a tree."

"Will it grow high to the sky and take me to a celestial palace where a giant slumbers?"

His father gave him a look, though without meanness. "If you're lucky, your mother would have been waiting on the other side and heard your knocking. _She_ will pull in the unattended thread."

The stalk shivered and a faint _tap tap tap_ emanated from inside it.

"Your mother's ready." Li senior turned to Sakura. "You may now call The Time, Sakura. Oh, and use that other card, too. " He gave Sakura a meaningful look. "It'll get you across safer. "

Sakura understood immediately and pulled out The Time and The Hope.

"How does Mother know?" Syaoran asked his father as Sakura busied herself with the cards.

"Well, I guess once you and Sakura are gone I'll have to go upstairs, wake her up and tell her about all this. Then I'll inform her what to do thirteen years from today."

It suddenly made sense to him. When his mother insisted that he wear his robes to the tea ceremony, she mentioned something to Meilin about giving him more _time_. Having The Mirror go through the dozen layers of his ceremonial robes and then putting on the sword, the shoes, and the headpiece, that must have bought him at least a good half hour.

"Have a save trip, son." Li senior leaned forward and pulled Syaoran into a hug.

A different arm tugged on Syaoran's hand urgently just as he was about to tighten his embrace. Sakura screamed something intangible, and suddenly a powerful force swirled around him and yanked him off the ground. He let out a surprised gasp, hands flailing before his eyes.

The next second his body descended to the ground and he fell with a loud thud. He saw stars behind his eyelids. It took a moment before the view finally swam into focus.

* * *

((ch. 13 – Final Chapter))

**Note:** Exactly two years ago today I published Winged Hope with confidence that I'd get it done before the Fourth of July of the same year. At that time it seemed highly feasible; I was bed-ridden, sick as a dog, and really had nothing to do but twiddle with my fingers. Might as well jot down waves of ideas onto the computer. I'd just finished watching the second movie for the third or fourth time then, my hyperactive muse was bouncing off the walls in my head, whispering – no, _shouting_ -- scenes and dialogues between Sakura and Syaoran, Meilin and Tomoyo, and even Meilin and Fang Yin. The original story idea I had at the time was a tad different from what you've been reading here. Two years later, I'm still not done writing Winged Hope. I wish real life activities/issues did not have to interfere with my hobbies. But I am happy to say that the Final Chapter comes up next, and then the Epilogue, and then I'll be DONE. :) To those who have been here since the beginning, THANK YOU for sticking with me, for your patience, for your encouragement and wonderful feedback/reviews. They are very much appreciated and you are very much loved.

**Armageddon Angel** – you are DA BOMB DOT COM. You rock hardcore. Thank you, thank you, thank you!


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